


Two and Two

by InsomniasShadow



Category: Skulduggery Pleasant - Derek Landy
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Case Fic, Derek Landy you coward, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Idiots in Love, Multiverse Shenanigans, No Darquesse cameo, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Plotty, Post SP13 - Seasons of War, Slow Dancing, Spoilers for SOW, mild smut in chapter 9, old enemies, sorry for that, this is for the Valduggery shippers out there
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-09-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:48:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 24,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23502637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InsomniasShadow/pseuds/InsomniasShadow
Summary: An old enemy emerges from the shadows of the Leibnitz Universe. A hunt begins, that threatens to shatter the peace of both worlds. Among the chaos, Valkyrie and Skulduggery face a second foe called miscommunication.-“Wait.” Skulduggery says before she can enter the room. She turns and he stops in front of her to pull something out of her hair.“Gross.” She says and makes a face. “Monster bits.” Valkyrie groans as he flicks the thing away.“Why didn’t you tell me I had something stuck in my hair while we were in the car?”“Oh, I didn’t know if I was still on thin ice.” He knows something is up and Valkyrie knows that he knows and-She turns and pushes past him.
Relationships: Valkyrie Cain & Skulduggery Pleasant, Valkyrie Cain/Militsa Gnosis, Valkyrie Cain/Skulduggery Pleasant
Comments: 48
Kudos: 59





	1. A Clever Man

**Author's Note:**

> Hello guuuuuys, I hope you survived reading Seasons of War, now we can all go and cry about it together... it'll be therapeutic. 
> 
> Work got cancelled thanks to the plague, so I decided to spend my free time to gift you a cute Valduggery fic. There'll be monster fighting, skeleton kissing, ballroom dancing and ass-kicking. 
> 
> Don't mind the minor angst in the beginning. Val will figure things out asap like the pro she is.

They’re out saving the day. Well, not everybody’s day, it’s not an apocalyptic day, but Valkyrie likes to think they are at least saving the day for the people involved. Sure, she has goo in her hair and bruised knuckles, but that’s not what is important. The important part is where she punched the monster and saved the girl. Valkyrie imagines she looks kind of epic right now. The witch they saved certainly seems to agree, going by the wide smile on her face. It’s a pretty smile on a pretty woman, Valkyrie thinks. Oh, and now it’s turning kind of flirty, the way her head tilts and her hair falls into her face. She looks like Grace Kelly and the thought makes Valkyrie bristle. 

  
“Thank you for saving me.” The witch says. She’s blushing and Valkyrie has to fight the urge to step between her and Skulduggery. Something weird is going on. He cocks his head at the witch and adjust his fedora to a daring angle. 

  
“The pleasure is all mine.” Skulduggery says. 

  
“I hope we meet again, Mr Pleasant.” The witch says, her name is Maya -something-. Valkyrie didn’t pay much attention when she introduced herself. She was too busy being chased by the monster that’s laying dead by her feet. 

  
“Next time under better circumstances, Ms Cicely.” He assures her, “It was fun. Haven’t had to punch something so hard in a while.” Skulduggery says and chuckles. Maya Cicely joins in, her laughter clear and girly. She puts a hand on Skulduggery’s forearm and squeezes. 

  
“Thank you.” Maya honest to God slurs. 

  
Valkyrie must have made a noise, because Skulduggery turns his head towards her. 

  
“I think we’re done here.” Valkyrie says and Maya steps away from Skulduggery. Valkyrie starts walking and mutters a goodbye. 

  
Her chest aches and her face feels hot. It’s got nothing to do with the fight she just won. That was fun. This feeling is new, she thinks, not completely new, to be honest, but it’s... it’s something she can’t put a name on yet. It’s not the first time she’s felt like this. There’s been a few times over the last couple of years, but it’s becoming more frequent. She lets out a long breath. This is somehow Skulduggery’s fault, Valkyrie decides. Irritated, she pulls out her car keys and sits down in the passenger seat of the Bentley. 

  
“Are you angry she didn’t thank you? I did the most important work, while you beheaded the beast, you know.” He says as he gets in the car. 

  
“What's that?”

  
“I looked handsome and heroic. One of us has to do it.” He says and starts the engine. There in bump-fuck nowhere as Valkyrie so expertly calls it. It's a long way back to Roarhaven.

  
“Yeah, I think it worked. I’ve seen the look she gave you.” Valkyrie says.

  
“She had hair like Grace Kelly.” He says. 

  
“Of course you’d notice that.” Valkyrie puts the radio on. It’s a weak attempt of shutting him up, but he lets her mellow in silence for a few moments. That’s a point for him and as long as Valkyrie hasn’t figured out what’s bugging her she can at least keep score.

  
“You’re doing that thing where you start up an argument before I can. What are we arguing about?” 

  
“I’m not.” She says decidedly and looks out of the window of the Bentley. Even in her ears, her voice sounds snappy. 

  
“Valkyrie, what did I do?” He asks. 

  
“If you don't know, I’m not telling you.” She says. A short silence follows. 

  
“Okay.” He says, eye sockets trained on the road before him, slightly nodding his head. 

  
“You don’t know, do you?” makes both of us, Valkyrie thinks. Her anger is subsiding. It slips from her grasp with every one of his smooth words. 

  
“I’m a clever man, I’m sure I can figure it out.”

.oOo.

Grand Mage Sorrows is already waiting for them. Valkyrie thinks China has probably grown bored with one of her countless meetings and is using them as an excuse to get out. 

  
“Wait.” Skulduggery says, before she can enter the room. She turns and he stops in front of her to pull something out of her hair. 

  
“Gross.” She says and makes a face. “Monster bits.” Valkyrie groans as he flicks the thing away. 

  
“Why didn’t you tell me I had that stuck in my hair while we were in the car?” 

  
“Oh, I didn’t know if I was still on thin ice.” He knows something is up and Valkyrie knows that he knows and-

She turns and pushes past him. 

  
“My favourite Arbiters, how did the witch hunt go?” China is wearing a red pantsuit with a low neckline and complicated black heels Valkyrie is sure she couldn’t take two steps in before falling on her face. It is good to see her back to her old self, now that Creed is out of the picture. 

  
“Turned out to be not much of a witch hunt, more of a monster hunt. But you should ask Skulduggery, he knows what to call it.”

  
“I think I’ll call it Herbert. It’s a nice solid name.” 

  
“I see.” China says and taps a hand against her hip with impatience. She holds an oval mirror in a silver frame in her other hand. 

  
“There’s another matter.” She begins and Valkyrie heard that tone of voice before. It makes the bottom drop out of her stomach. 

  
“Hello, Skulduggery, Valkyrie.” A voice sounds from the mirror. China holds it up so they can see the man’s face. It’s Meritorious, which means this is the communication device Serafina and Mevolent used between the Leibniz Universe and theirs. 

  
“Hello, Meritorious. You’re looking sharp.” Skulduggery says. 

  
“How are things going on your side?” Valkyrie wants to know after she greeted him. He looks a lot cleaner and less worried than when she last saw him.

  
“Our little draugar problem is solved. There’s still some hordes out there, but nothing we can’t handle.” 

  
“I take it things are stabilising.” Skulduggery says. 

  
“You’re looking at Dublin-Within-the-Wall’s new Grand Mage.” China says. 

  
“Congratulations!” Valkyrie says. 

  
Meritorious clears his throat, “With luck and a few more centuries of trust-building between the magical and mortal population, I am sure I’ll be Grand Mage of Dublin, with no walls attached to the title. Your universe is inspiring us. And with Mevolent and Lord Vile gone a new era of understanding and prosperity can begin.” 

  
“That’s good to hear. But what do you need our help with?” 

  
“As you can imagine, things are kind of insane right now. We’re organising, rebuilding. I didn’t really have the time to recruit my own detectives or arbiters. China said I could borrow hers, if you agree. It might be nothing, but I have the feeling this could turn into a serious problem if we don’t deal with it. You see, someone is stealing parts of an ancient artefact and I have no one that can look into it.” 

  
“What kind of artefact?” Skulduggery asks. 

  
“Pieces of the exousian medal. I don’t know about your universe, Skulduggery, but the medal got shattered by the Unnamed. We were able to destroy some pieces, but I fear to think what power one could wield by brining together just some of its remaining parts.” 

  
“Yes, it’s the same with our copy.” Before she can ask, Skulduggery turns his head to her and explains: “The exousian medal is a device that gives the wearer unimaginable mind-controlling powers. No Sensitive can withstand. You can use it on the armies of your enemies and they instantly change their mind and become your armies instead.” 

  
“Sounds dangerous.” Valkyrie says. 

  
“It is. There are still some of Mevolent’s followers on the loose. In the false hands it could tip the delicate balance we are trying to establish.” Meritorious says. 

  
“Eachan, you had me, before you even asked. Valkyrie what do you think? It’s time for another dimension-hopping adventure.”

  
“I hope this one won’t last another seven months though.” China says. “I need you here.”

  
“I have to think about it. I promised Militsa to never do another shunt. I need to talk to her first.” 

  
“Of course.” Skulduggery says. 

  
“You have until tomorrow morning. Is that enough time to make up your mind? I’m sure Mr Vex or Ms Low will accompany Skulduggery. If you decide to stay home it will be alright.” China says.

.oOo.

  
“What do you think I should do?” Valkyrie asks when they’re in the underground car park. The Oompa Loompa is a nice contrast to the Bentley next to it. 

  
“It’s your relationship. I don’t know under what circumstances you promised Militsa to never leave her for another universe, but I don’t think it’s something you should back out lightly.” 

  
Valkyrie gulps, feels her throat dry up. He is talking about this like it isn’t a big deal. 

  
“I don’t-” she starts, loses her train of thought, “I do love her, I mean. But it’s kinda important that Dimension X doesn’t fall apart. I feel responsible for the people over there. The mages screwed them over. I want to help Meritorious make things better.” 

  
“I’m sure Militsa will understand. It sounds like a normal case. Something we’ve done countless times. We’re dealt with Mevolent. China is right. This shouldn’t take another seven months.” 

  
“I don’t want you to go alone.” Valkyrie says as he gets out his car keys. 

  
“I won’t be alone. I’d be with Tanith or Dexter. They’ll be dying to have an adventure with me.” 

  
“You know what I mean.” She says. 

  
“Aw, I’d miss you too.” He says and gets into the Bentley. He’s out of the car park before Valkyrie’s brain gets the message. She feels stupid standing there watching the spot where the car disappeared. Skulduggery is right. She could sit this one out, but that doesn’t feel okay. What if something happens to him or one of her friends, while she isn’t there? They will, literary, be worlds apart. Who knows when news would reach her? She thinks of Saracen. Brave and funny Saracen, who died when she should have been with them. The thought of something like this happening again grates against her stomach. She needs to make a decision. 

  
Valkyrie gets into the car, flings her phone on the backseat and checks the time. She curses, starts the car. Shit, she thinks, she’s late for dinner. She promised Militsa to not be late again, but her promises don’t seem worth much at the moment. The thought leaves her cold when she drives out of the city towards Grimwood. She takes the secret road from the rear and parks the car in a hurry. Xena greats her with wet kisses as Valkyrie hangs her jacket and walks into the living room. 

  
“The food’s gone cold.” Militsa says. She’s sitting at the set table that’s too big for just the two of them, but Valkyrie remembers Gordon sitting there, so she hasn’t had the heart to through it out. 

  
“You could have started without me.” Valkyrie says and goes over to kiss her cheek. Militsa turns her head and puts her raised glass between them. Valkyrie feels herself deflate. 

  
“I started on the wine without you. I wanted to wait, but it’s been like two hours. I called you, but-” she shrugs. Her cheeks are flushed from the alcohol and she doesn’t look happy. Valkyrie retreats and sits down. 

  
“My phone’s on silent when I’m monster hunting.” She says. 

  
“Yes, I know. But a text would’ve been nice. _Wasn’t killed by a crazy witch, hugs and kisses_. That kind of thing.” Militsa gesticulates and the wine in her glass almost spills over. She takes another sip. Militsa isn’t one to drink very much at all. That she is doing so now makes guilt prickle up Valkyrie’s neck. They shouldn’t have this discussion now, but there’s no time. The case starts tomorrow. 

  
“Turns out it wasn’t a witch. It was a regular textbook monster. When it was over she came on to Skulduggery. At least I think that’s what happened.” 

  
Militsa’s eyes go big and she giggles. “Who did, the monster or the witch? You didn’t speci- specify.” She stumbles over the word. 

  
“The witch. I don’t like her.” Valkyrie says and pours herself a glass of water from the jug. 

  
Militsa lets the air rush out through her teeth and straightens in her seat. “Of course you don’t.” 

  
“What do you mean?” Valkyrie asks and raises her eyebrows, genuinely confused by the harsh tone of her girlfriend. 

  
“You don’t like to come second. Someone else got Skulduggery’s attention and you automatically hate them. I’ve seen it the one time he helped that girl out at the Sanctuary. The one that dropped that Mesopotamian tablet and he picked it up like a proper gentleman.” 

  
“Oh, I remember.” 

  
“See, you get jealous.” Militsa says it like Valkyrie has just proven her point. She sounds like a teacher as she says it and normally Valkyrie thinks that side of Militsa is adorable, but tonight something inside of her twists. It might be because Militsa is cutting too close to the truth to be comfortable.

  
“Why should I be jealous? I’m already his partner.” Valkyrie says and crosses her arms in front of her chest. Militsa’s eyes flicker with an emotion Valkyrie can’t place before she puts on a guarded expression. Militsa doesn’t say anything for a while, doesn’t take another sip of her wine either, so Valkyrie resumes talking: “There’s something else I need to talk to you about. A case, but I would have to go away for a while. Can’t say how long, but it’s probably only for a few weeks.” 

  
Militsa’s expression sours and she puts her glass on the table and pushes it away with her fingertips. 

  
“We talked about this. You said you wanted to slow down. I remember when you told me you’d be gone for two months and then I didn’t see my girlfriend for seven. Seven very long months. Where I didn’t know if you were alive or dead. And I was okay with that. It’s her job, I told myself. She knows what she’s doing. But I was alone and I was keeping tabs on your family. I didn’t like to be so alone Valkyrie. It’s like waiting for you to show up to dinner, late and without even thinking of letting me know what’s going on. It’s not fair.” 

  
Valkyrie hangs her head. It’s more than Militsa has said to her in a while and it damn well sounds a lot more honest than their last semi-serious discussions.   
“I’m sorry. I’m trying to get better at this. But when I’m on a case things are different.” 

  
“You’ve been trying for months, Valkyrie, but sometimes I feel like you’re forgetting I’m even part of your life when you’re out with Skulduggery.” Valkyrie grabs her hand over the table and squeezes. 

  
“You didn’t tell me where you’d be going for the case.” Militsa gets back to the topic at hand, “I think I’d be okay if we agreed on some rules. I want to be in the loop. Call me every night. Wish me goodnight. Tell me about your day. Cheesy stuff like that. I promise I won’t miss you quite as much, Val.” 

  
Valkyrie bites her lip, feels like she’ll suffocate on the jagged edges inside her throat as she swallows. 

  
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible. Meritorious called. I’d be in the Leibniz Universe for the case.” Militsa pulls her hand away and pushes back her chair. 

  
“Oh.” She says. 

  
“It won’t be for long. I promise. I know I said I wouldn’t go back there, ever, but something really important got stolen, that could mean another dictator is on the rise. The mortals over there just won their freedom and Meritorious is working so hard. I don’t think I can say no.” Valkyrie says. Militsa stands up, wraps her arms closely around herself. 

  
“You can’t say no, or you don’t want to say no?”

  
“Honestly, I don’t want to say no. It’s important to me, Militsa.” 

  
“So you’re going away again.”

  
“It won’t be like last time. Mevolent is dead. We’re not taking Serpine. That dude can drop dead. It’ll just me and Skulduggery. Maybe Dexter and Tanith for old time’s sake.” 

  
“Skulduggery and me.” Militsa corrects automatically, but her voice sounds far away. 

  
“I’m really, really sorry, Militsa.” Valkyrie says. 

  
“I’m sorry too.” Militsa says and meets her gaze. There are unshed tears in her girlfriend’s eyes. 

  
“Please don’t cry. You won’t even notice I’m gone.” Valkyrie says and reaches for her hand. 

  
“Can’t Tanith go alone with Skulduggery? You wanted to take things easy. The weeks after you came back, we had fun, right? Watching movies, walking Xena.”

Valkyrie withdraws. Militsa doesn’t know thins, but Valkyrie had grown incredibly bored with her self-proclaimed holiday after the first couple of days. It had been nice to be around the people she cared about, but she’s missed Skulduggery and Tanith and the work they put in as Arbiters. The more progress she made in therapy, the more comfortable she became with being her old self and her old self had led a life of adventure. 

  
“Yeah, Tanith could go. But I can’t stand the thought of not being around should something bad happen.”

  
“And I have to be okay with it? I’d be stuck here, not knowing if something bad happened to you.”

  
“I’m not a hypocrite. You don’t understand what it was like when I found out Saracen was gone.” She sounds like she needs to defend herself. 

  
“Oh I think, I understand you better than you understand yourself right now Valkyrie. I understand that as long as Skulduggery is around I’d always be second best. It’s Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain, not Valkyrie Cain and Militsa Gnosis.”

  
“Are you jealous?” Valkyrie asks taken aback, turning the prior question on its head. 

  
“No, not jealous. But I just realised something. It’s the same thing that killed your relationship with Fletcher. We bore you. It’s nice to come home to someone, but you can’t just leave me behind whenever you walk out of that door into another adventure, Valkyrie. I-” she’s crying now and swipes at her eyes, “There’s no place between Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain. No place for me.” 

  
“Are you breaking up with me?” Valkyrie asks and feels heat rise behind her own eyes. 

  
“Yes, actually, I think I am. I’m tired of waiting for you to let me in. I know you trust me and I know you think you love me, but I don’t think we can be what the other one deserves. I love you Valkyrie, but I don’t think you love me enough.” 

  
“That’s bullshit. I love you. You said it yourself.” 

  
“If it was enough you’d stay. I can’t ask you to chose me over Skulduggery. He’s everything to you, so I’m not going to. I’m letting you go, Valkyrie.” 

.oOo. 

Milista leaves. Valkyrie doesn’t stoop so low and begs her to stay, she knows when she’s lost a fight. Her thoughts are jumbled in her head. She came home late to her girlfriend to discuss a work thing and then… then things got out of hand. Her hands tremble. She’s standing behind the door Militsa walked out of. Xena is brushing her nose against the hollow of Valkyrie’s knee. 

  
“It’s alright, girl. It’s just us now.” She brushes against Xena’s head and bends down to hide her face in her fur. Militsa said she didn’t love her enough. Valkyrie can’t understand what she means by that. Either you love someone or you don’t, she thinks. But, as the tears come, she knows that love alone is not the only thing that makes for a good relationship. 

  
Xena licks her tears and a big sob escapes her. Valkyrie gets up slowly, walks into the living room. She puts out the candle on the dinner table, not hungry anymore. She walks upstairs and gets ready for bed. Her moves are practical, methodical. She doesn’t need to think to shower and brush her teeth. 

  
This had been a long time coming, she thinks as she dresses down and crawls under her sheets, Xena at the foot of the bed. Militsa had become a person Valkyrie relied on. The person she talked about her troubles to, her fears. But every day Valkyrie would walk out and join Skulduggery for another case and she’d forget Militsa. She’d forget their lunch dates, or when they’d wanted to watch a movie. She’d forget to call her or forget to ask how Militsa’s own day had gone at school. She’d just expected her girlfriend to be there when she needed her, but Valkyrie sees it now. She hadn’t exactly balanced the scales. They’d seldom talked about Milista’s own worries, but then, what could a school teacher worry about? 

  
Valkyrie bites her lip and turns on her bed. Bloody hell, that’s probably another reason why their relationship went up in flames. Valkyrie doesn’t think Milista is equal to her. It makes her sick to her stomach, but it would explain why she also feels a traitorous slither of relief. Maybe it was better to have a clean-cut, than see their relationship snuffed out slowly. They’d grown apart in the seven months she hadn’t been here and there’s that other reason. The thing she can’t put her finger on yet. It’s connected to Skulduggery, no, it is Skulduggery. She is a good detective, she tells herself. Valkyrie is a clever woman, she is sure she can figure it out. With that thought, she falls asleep. 


	2. Joan of Arc

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Ho, guys!  
> I hope you're getting through the Corona crisis unharmed. Let me know if you want to see anything in particular happen between Skul and Val and I'll see if I can squeeze it in.

Her phone wakes her at the crack of dawn. Valkyrie treats herself to a long hot shower, where she lets the events of last night flash through her memory. She walks Xena, packs her bag and drives to Haggard. Her folks are delighted to see her. By the smiles on their faces, Valkyrie knows Alice is having a good day. Her little sister is already calling herself Xena’s new owner, excited to spend so much time with Valkyrie’s dog. Valkyrie tells Xena to be good and hugs her family. 

  
“Say Hello to Skulduggery for us.” Her Mom says. Valkyrie says she will and drives to the High Sanctuary. 

  
She doesn’t know the shunter standing in the hall with Skulduggery, but she knows the person next to him. Valkyrie gets wrapped in a hug that lifts her up to her tiptoes. 

  
“You’re really coming with?” 

  
Tanith squeals. “I can’t let you have all the fun. Mister funny bones over there doesn’t look happy to see me, but you love me enough to make up for it.” Tanith says. 

  
Valkyrie cringes at her words but steps toward the shunter to cover it. Skulduggery cocks his head, but she doesn’t meet his gaze. She knows you can tell that she’s been crying by how red her eyes are, but now is not the time to tell them about her fallout with Militsa. 

  
“I’m Domenic Audentes.” The new guy says. They greet each other and shake hands. He’s young and handsome. Valkyrie feels his eyes linger over her. She’s clad in the necronaut suit and it doesn’t leave many of her curves to the imagination. 

  
“One of Meritorious' men.” Skulduggery explains. He’s wearing his leather get up with a dagger at his side and his gun strapped to his thigh. It makes her wonder if he’s expecting trouble on the other side.

  
“Are you ready?” Audentes asks. They link hands to make it easier to shunt. The world flickers and they’re standing inside a field when she breathes out. They can see Dublin-Within-the-Wall from here. A small shape in the distance. 

  
“Oh God, I forgot about all the walking.” Valkyrie complains.

  
“I think you’ll live.” Skulduggery says and starts his track downhill toward the city. 

  
“You don’t know that. My feet could fall off and I’d bleed to death.”

  
“Highly unlikely.” Skulduggery says. 

  
“Piggyback?” 

  
“Not a chance.” 

  
“I think I regret my decision,” Tanith announces. “Domenic, please, take me back home. They’ll bicker like this for hours. My ears will start bleeding.” Valkyrie pokes her with her elbow. Skulduggery marches on. 

  
Audentes leaves them when they reach the city a few hours later. They ran into three draugar, but took care of them without difficulties. It’s a sunnier day here than at home. Valkyrie hears her stomach grumble and is glad when they are treated to lunch by Meritorious. They discuss how things are going for the men of the Resistance who took hold of Mevolent’s walled cities. Meritorious is hopeful but Valkyrie can see by the set of Skulduggery’s shoulders that he is worried that the Grand Mage is too optimistic. It’s after they’ve eaten and when they’re on their way to the last crime scene, that Valkyrie realises with a jolt of guilt that she hasn’t thought of Militsa once since they’ve got here. It gives her pause, but her attention gets diverted, as they enter the house of the mage that owned one of the stolen pieces of the medal. 

  
“This is the part where we look for clues.” Tanith tells the homeowner as she passes him. Valkyrie observes how Tanith spends the next ten minutes scrutinising the pattern of the carpet to her feet. 

  
“You still have no idea what a clue is, do you?” she asks her friend. 

  
“I believe I’ll be able to tell a normal thing from a clue-thing when I see one.” Valkyrie lets out a knowing hum and starts giggling. Skulduggery gazes at them, shakes his head and continues rifling through the other magic artefacts in the mage’s collection. Valkyrie isn’t very impressed. It doesn’t even come close to the High Sanctuary’s repository. An hour passes. Not even Skulduggery seems able to find a clue. They interrogate the homeowner, but he has neither seen and nor heard anything. He has no enemies and Valkyrie doesn’t think the man is lying. 

  
“One down, three more to go.” Skulduggery says as they wrap up and step outside to the street. 

  
“That was so, so boring. I’ll never want to look at another cupboard ever again.” Tanith says and stretches so her back pops. “How can you stand it?” 

  
Valkyrie shrugs, “It’s not that bad. Normally we pick the cases where there’s a lot more running and fighting.” 

  
“Boredom keeps the mind sharp, I always say.” 

  
“I’ve never heard you say that. You can’t even wait in the car for five minutes.” Valkyrie disagrees. 

  
“We should split up. I can’t have three more of these. The boredom will kill me.” Tanith says. “And I want to take a look at the local wares. Maybe they’ll have a few knives we don’t get in our dimension.” 

  
“Like magical ones?”

  
“I was thinking extra sharp, but magical is good too.”

  
“Are you sure about that?” Skulduggery asks. Tanith taps her sword lovingly. 

  
“I’m prepared for all eventualities and I can interrogate people. I’ll only throw them about the room if I have to. Promise.” They go over the three addresses and the profiles of the owners Meritorious gave them. 

  
“Who do you think I should pick?” Tanith asks. 

  
“Arran Stein looks hot.” Valkyrie says. 

  
“Arran Stein it is.” Tanith says and starts walking. 

  
When she is out of earshot, Valkyrie asks: “She walked into the wrong direction, didn’t she?” 

  
“That she did.” Skulduggery says and puts his hat back on. Valkyrie links their arms and he guides them to the next house. 

.oOo.

Valkyrie is going through a collection of funny looking stones when Skulduggery casually stops his search. 

  
“I take it things didn’t go as smooth with Militsa.” He says, evidently deeming this crime scene devoid of clues also. 

  
“No, they didn’t.” Valkyrie takes a deep breath before she adds: “She broke up with me.” 

  
“That doesn’t sound like it was a mutual decision.” 

  
“I don’t think she wants to see me for a while. She said she feels I don’t love her enough. Among other things.” She hopes they can remain friends after some time has passed and Valkyrie doesn’t feel like crying whenever she thinks of Militsa. It’s nice how things turned out with Fletcher. Skulduggery waits for her to elaborate, when she doesn’t he straightens his cuffs and walks closer. 

  
“Will you try to win her back?” He makes it sound like a mere matter of action and reaction. Maybe it is to his calculated mind, but she doesn’t share that level headed view. 

  
“I won’t have taken this case and gone away if I wanted that.” 

  
“Valkyrie, is there someone else?” he asks. His suspicions are not unfounded, but it makes her feel worse. She doesn’t want him to think of the mess she made with Fletcher and Caelan. She likes to think that she has come a long way since her teenage years. 

  
“No, detective, there isn’t.” 

  
“I know you’re lying.” He replies. It brings a smile to her face which makes her dimple come out. 

  
“You don’t know what you’re talking about. How can you tell?” she asks. 

  
“Nah, I’d never give away my secret.” 

  
“You’re wrong though.” She says and turns round. “We should get going. One house more to see. Whoever stole the medal pieces doesn’t leave a trace, or the homeowners are all in it together.” 

  
“Doesn’t seem likely, when you look at their profiles, but keep going.” They theorise for a bit before they get to the next house. Valkyrie misses her phone. She has no idea if Tanith is done with her own investigation and the city could hold all kinds of danger. She complains about it to Skulduggery. 

  
“When I was your age we had quill and parchment.” 

  
“Aw, did you write letters to Ghastly?” she says and imagines him. Eager, young and in the mids of scattered paper. She has no idea what he’d looked like when there was still flesh on his bones, but it doesn’t matter. The Skulduggery in her imagination is wearing a very silly wig and tights. 

  
“I have a lovely penmanship. But no, I just dropped in unannounced. It drove him crazy.” He stops and cocks his head. “Does this seem familiar to you?” he asks and makes a gesture to encapsulate their surroundings. She takes in the shape of the buildings, tries to blend out the people bustling by. 

  
“Looks like Christ Church, just with Faceless Ones symbolism instead of, you know, the normal kind.” 

  
“Indeed. It’s one of the oldest buildings in Dublin. It was here before the universes diverged.”

  
“And the other two houses were in front of Dublin castle. What do you think that means?” Now that he pointed it out she realises that the architecture of the houses they investigated did look familiar.

  
“I don’t know yet, but it seems odd. In all the landmarks and buildings that are dissimilar to ours, the thief picks the ones that aren’t. I don’t believe that’s a coincidence.” They go on, investigate their last victim and, again, find nothing at the scene where the piece was taken. When they are back on the street night is falling, wrapping Dublin-Within-the-Wall in a midnight cloak. Magic fuels the street lights, it’s a warm glow instead of a sharp electrical one. They take their time to get back to Mevolent’s old Castle, now this Dublin’s Sanctuary. He is doing most of the talking, but she knows he is trying to distract her from Militsa. 

  
Unsuspected a woman staggers into her, rams her shoulder. 

  
“Hold her!” A voice sounds. Out of the corner of her eyes, she sees a city guard approach. On reflex, she reaches out and whips the woman around by her shoulder. The woman aims a punch at her throat. Valkyrie steps back, but the street is muddy so she lacks balance. The next blow hits. Valkyrie draws her shock stick. Drives it against the woman’s shoulder. She bends, the stick brushes her back, before she kicks out. Her foot clashes against Valkyrie’s jaw and she feels one of her front teeth crack. Anger and pain blind her. Enraged, she swings again. The stick bites into the woman’s neck and she goes down. 

  
The woman’s mouth is a thin stern line as Valkyrie grabs her by the wrists and forces her to stand up. She’s not letting her go. The guard reaches them, out of breath. 

  
“She’s a thief.” The man says. Something big fell to the ground as Valkyrie fought. Skulduggery picked it up. Something wrapped in a rag. 

  
“It’s a loaf of bread.” Skulduggery says. 

  
“The people in the mortal quarter go hungry.” The woman hisses. She looks like she is about to cry, not out of desperation but out of anger. 

  
“Well, you should have thought of that, before you moved there.” The guard says and Valkyrie feels heat rise in her belly, drowning out her throbbing tooth. Outside the city is still not save for mortals.

  
“Where will you put her?” Skulduggery asks. 

  
“Into the goal, of course. There’s a special hell for thieving mortal bitches like her.” The guard says. This might be the dawn of a new era for the Leibniz Universe, but it is still full of racist scumbags, Valkyrie thinks. 

  
“Don’t talk to her like that.” Valkyrie says, careful to form the words around her cracked tooth. 

  
“You don’t get to tell me how I do my job.” The guard says.

  
“I’ll pay for it.” Skulduggery says.

  
“Listen, fella, I don’t care if you’re part of the revolution. That mortal committed a crime and she’ll go to prison for it.” 

  
“Don’t you know who I am?” Skulduggery asks and there’s a warning in that voice. He steps forward.

  
“Should I?” Valkyrie thinks that man isn’t very bright. It’s not every day you see a talking skeleton. 

  
“I’m a good friend of Eachan Meritorious. I’m also from that other universe Mevolent’s people wanted to conquer. Do you know where Mevolent’s follower went in my universe?” the guard shakes his head, visibly scared.

  
“There’s a special hell for them.” Valkyrie finishes. 

  
“Sent the bill to your New Grand Mage. I’m sure he’ll be delighted to hear you’ve apprehended a woman for stealing a little bit of food.” 

  
“She was disturbing the peace, Sir.” The guard says. 

  
“And you took care of it. You may go now.” Skulduggery says. The guard waits for two seconds before he hurries off. 

  
“Here you go.” Valkyrie releases the woman’s hands and Skulduggery hands her the bread. 

  
“I wish I actually had money to give you. Are you alright?” Skulduggery asks. 

  
“Yes.” The woman’s eyes are downcast. 

  
“We’re not going to hurt you.” Valkyrie reassures her, “Even though you cracked one of my teeth. My name is Valkyrie, this is Skulduggery. If you need help you can ask for us at the Sanctuary. I guess that’d be alright for Meritorious.” 

  
“I’m not going to thank you. You’re not much better than the rest of them.” The woman says, she glances at Valkyrie under her lashes. There’s hatred there, but Valkyrie is used to being looked at like that. 

  
“What’s your name?” she asks. 

  
“I’m not giving you my name, sorcerer.” The woman hisses. 

  
“What’s the name you’ve taken?” Valkyrie clarifies. 

  
“Joan.” She says, “May I go now, Miss?” Valkyrie nods and Joan curtsies with so much disgust on her face it makes her take a step back and brush against Skulduggery’s shoulder. 

  
“Woah.” Valkyrie says once she’s gone. “Did they really put the mortals into one district? They had to let everyone go, even their house staff.”

  
“We should talk to Meritorious about this. I want to get a better picture of what efforts they’re putting in to join the two communities.” 

  
“Sounds like a ghetto, if you ask me.” Valkyrie says. Her tooth throbs painfully with every word she says and the air is a sharp knife whenever it comes against the crack. 

  
“Let me see.” Skulduggery says. He lifts the corner of her lip with his index finger, gloved thumb brushing over her jaw. Her lip took the brunt of it and he wipes away the half-dry blood carefully. 

  
“What’s the verdict, doctor?” she asks when he pulls away. 

  
“Still pretty.” He says. “One of the Sanctuary doctors will fix it in no time.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd love to get some comments <3 let me know what you think about the Leibnitz Universe. I hope Derek will mention more stuff that's happening there, now that Mevolent is gone, in the next books.


	3. An Unexpected Enemy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the kudos and nice comments you left me <3 I love fanfiction for this. I can interact with you guys right after your eyes left the page.  
> Expect the unexpected in this chapter. You're in for a treat.

Tanith is already waiting for them when they reach the new Sanctuary. Like them, she found nothing out of the ordinary. When Skulduggery asks her, she remembers that the building she visited and its surrounding area is old enough to have been built before their universes split. 

  
“I think we should set up surveillance. I need a city map and a list of the people that we know own pieces of the medal.” Skulduggery says.  
“How many pieces are there?” Valkyrie asks. 

  
“About six more, that we know about.” Skulduggery says. 

  
Meritorious brings them the requested map himself. He asks them about their findings and he and Skulduggery talk strategies. Meritorious agrees that installing surveillance is the way to go and reassures them that a sigil master will help them set up the mirrors. It’s odd to Valkyrie, who is so used to using camera feeds to find herself with magic technology she doesn’t fully comprehend. 

  
They tell Meritorious about the incident with Joan and he lets out a sigh. 

  
“I know it’s not ideal, but the mortals are saver inside the walls of the city than outside. Rogue mages and draugar remain a threat and they are defenceless.” 

  
“That doesn’t sound like they are free to go where they want.” Tanith says. 

  
“Yes, but most of the mortals are unemployed now. Not many sorcerers want to actually pay their staff. Only the rich still employ them. And who would hire a mortal for a job a mage can do faster and better?” Meritorious asks. She doesn’t like the sound of that. These problems seem bigger than what Valkyrie can tackle, their scale too grand. 

  
“Is there anything we can do to help?” Valkyrie asks. 

  
“Actually I’m thinking of opening some kind of school, where mortal and magical children would share classes. But the richer population would rather home school their offspring than let them share a classroom with mortal children.” 

  
“It’s not a bad idea. And if you gave each class a mortal and a magic teacher they might refer from ribbing each other to shreds. Kids can be vicious, but prejudice is something you acquire over the years. It’s a good start.” Skulduggery says. 

  
Meritorious gives them an overview of all the little projects he is working on. The other walled cities are under his command, but most of the time he has to deal with in-fighting among his mages, who cannot seem to agree on anything. The mortals often come second. None of the cities have broken the peace and declared themselves loyal to Mevolent’s doctrine, but Meritorious thinks that might only be because after the draugar plaque their numbers are too decimated to build a force. The red hoods are gone. Instead Meritorious started employing a new city guard, where each mage is paired with a mortal. But some of the guards think it’s a waste of time to take a mortal along. The guard they ran into certainly seemed to think so. Mortals can’t fight on equal footing with other sorcerers, but Valkyrie doesn’t see how upholding the law and civility has much to do with someone’s magical prowess.

  
They spend the next week putting up their surveillance feeds. With the help of the sigil master, they can combine and view each set up from one big mirror in their quarters, just like they would do on various monitors back home. Some of the homeowners were worried about their privacy, but Valkyrie told them if she wanted to watch drama she’d put on a reality TV show instead. The joke was lost on them, but Tanith flexing her muscles and Skulduggery talking their ear off was not.   
The month comes to a close and Valkyrie didn’t really feel the passing of time. She still misses Militsa occasionally. Tanith starts training with her again. It’s a welcome distraction. Valkyrie becomes better at dipping into Tanith’s magic. But as soon as she gets too distracted, the knowledge slips from her mind. The longest she has been able to remember was two hours. Skulduggery calls it progress, but Valkyrie still feels like a magic leech. It frustrates her that they might never fully understand her magic. 

  
The case has gone stale, but Meritorious comes to them with questions all hours of the day. She finds she likes devising ideas on how to let mortals and sorcerers meet to overcome segregation. Their home universe has enough problems with racism as it is, they can extrapolate from what worked in their world to overcome some of those issues here. The school Meritorious spoke of will start its construction soon. 

  
Tanith suggested it would help if mortals were included in the everyday tasks of sorcerers. The China Sorrows of this world ran her own academy before she joined the resistance and abandoned the Church of the Faceless Ones. It’s been reopened now that Mevolent is gone, but still needs more students to regain its former glory and prestige. After many heartfelt discussions with Meritorious and the people of the academy, it’s opening its doors to mortals. They might not be able to actually use sigils, but even without magic they can carve them and learn magical languages. It starts an uproar among the magical community. Some find it sacrilegious to share their ancient knowledge with mortals. They are culled, once they are told that the mortals will be put to menial tasks first to prove their worth before any secret knowledge is dispersed. It’s a political game of constantly balancing the scales. There’s people fighting in the streets. Mortals against mages, but also inside both fractions. Not many go for the killing blow, but Valkyrie understands now why Meritorious talked about chaos. Things are never calm. 

  
They’re in the middle of discussing another accident that happened between rival mages in a market place when an alarm chimes from Skulduggery’s pocket. Valkyrie turns around irritated. They don’t have phone access. He produces a hand-sized mirror and she realises what’s happening. 

  
“Get us a teleporter!” Valkyrie demands and people shuffle about the room. Doors are flung open and shut. A man with dishevelled hair runs up to them. 

  
“Where?” he asks and Skulduggery gives him the address. He, Valkyrie and Tanith link hands. A blink. They’re standing in a dimly lit street. Skulduggery flies up, crashes through a window on the third floor of the building. Valkyrie follows after and Tanith runs up the wall. 

  
“I guess I just wait here.” The teleporter says and starts sulking. 

  
The room they crashed is dark, the streetlight not enough to let them see much. There’s someone with them in the room. Skulduggery is flung into a shelf and it rains books. Valkyrie summons a lightning ball to see. 

  
A figure stands at the door. She lets loose. The lightning strikes them broad in the chest and they’re flown backwards out of the door down the stairs. In the flicker Valkyrie sees the colour of their eyes. They are golden. 

  
She curses. Her heart skips a beat as she runs after Ravel. Her lightning cracks from her eyes and hands, lights the staircase, but he is gone. It’s like the earth opened up and swallowed him. She lets out a scream of rage. Skulduggery appears by her shoulder. 

  
“Well, that’s an unfortunate surprise.” He says. 

  
“Did he teleport?” Valkyrie asks. He puts a hand to her shoulder and together they turn back to the room. Tanith turned the lights on. 

  
“He was alone.” Skulduggery says. He’s been reading the air. Tanith still has her sword in her hand. She leans over the handle to peer at the broken glass case. The piece of the medal is gone. 

  
“That was anticlimactic. I want a real fight.” Tanith says. 

  
“That little piece of shit.” Valkyrie curses. 

  
“It’s not the Erskine Ravel from our dimension. He didn’t murder Ghastly.” Skulduggery says. 

  
“Yeah, he’s a megalomaniac that’s after a mind-controlling weapon that can crush the revolution to dust, that’s so much better.” Valkyrie says. 

  
“I don’t get it.” Tanith says, “How could he disappear?” 

.oOo.

“Erskine always had his own political agenda.” Meritorious explains. They are sitting in the refurbished and remodelled throne room. It’s spartan, but the desk that Valkyrie secretly calls the war table, is big enough to let them all sit and discuss things out on the open. 

  
“But he was one of the Dean Men, right?” Tanith needs to check with this universe’s timeline. 

  
“Yes, but after the Skulduggery of our world disappeared they had to go into hiding. Erskine was my most promising pupil, always has been.” Valkyrie glances as Tanith, but there is no reaction. She’s seen Skulduggery turn into Vile, but so far she has missed commenting on it. Maybe her own time with a Remnant lets her hold back any accusations as to the damage Skulduggery caused as his alter ego. 

  
“What happened?” Valkyrie asks.

  
“He left the Resistance. By then he had gathered his own following. Still opposed to Mevolent and the teachings of the Church of the Faceless Ones, but on his own agenda. He doesn’t want to let go of the power we had over the mortals. In his ideal world, we’d still rule over them. _Govern_ them, as he calls it, because they cannot govern themselves. Too weak and too blunt as they are. Ravel wants to make peace, but he doesn’t want freedom.” 

  
“And yet he fails to see that there is no peace without freedom.” Skulduggery says. “If he gathers enough pieces of the exousian medal, he’ll gain control over every city guard, every mage willing to fight for the mortals and turn them like a switch.” 

  
“How do we stop him?” Tanith asks.

  
“He’s fast. He has a way to disappear in an instant. We need a teleporter for our team. The next time the alarm sounds we have to be there in the blink of an eye.” Skulduggery turns his head towards Valkyrie, “Do you think Fletcher is up to some dimension-hopping?”

.oOo.

Valkyrie is awake in a second. She doesn’t open her eyes, doesn’t move. Let her opponent think she’s still asleep. Tanith’s room is across the hall from hers, Skulduggery’s right next to it. Her friends will be at the throat of her enemy in an instant if they hear a commotion. 

  
“Hush, it’s just me.” Skulduggery says softly. She groans and puts a hand over her eyes as he turns on the globe that serves as a lamp on her nightstand. 

  
“What time is it?” she asks and rubs over her eyes. He has dressed down, at least what he considers dressing down. The coat is gone. Underneath he wears faded black. He fully expected to run into a lot more fights when they came here, she thinks, missing his suits. 

  
“Half past three.” He says and holds up his hands, “I know what you will say. I know you hate me right now, but I think I’ve figured something out.” 

  
“God, Skulduggery. Can’t this wait till morning?” 

  
“No, I need to voice my expert thoughts and you’re an excellent listener when you’re about to doze off.” 

  
“I hate you.” She says. 

  
“Yes, yes, dear. Scoot over.” She does and he sits down next to her on the blanket and crosses his ankles. She sits against her headboard to be level with him. 

  
“I asked Meritorious what magical discipline Erskine had chosen in this universe and he told me, like ours, he was an Elemental. He also said, in recent years there have been rumours that Erskine has been experimenting. I believe he is, what we commonly call, magical ambidextrous.” 

  
“I’m sure you’re building up to something there, but could you hurry up? I dreamt I was flying and I want to get back to that.” 

  
“Valkyrie, you can fly with your magic. I don’t see why dreaming about it is so special.” 

  
“It was a cool dream. Shut up. There were no talking skeletons in my dream.” 

  
“You wound me.” He says and puts a gloved hand to his chest, where a living man’s heart would be. 

  
“Hmm, you were saying?” 

  
“I believe Erskine has learnt to shunt.” 

  
“What makes you say that?” 

  
“At first, my thoughts circled back to teleporting. It’s the easiest explanation, but then I understood the significance of the buildings. He shunts over to our universe, breaks in in our universe and when he’s close to the piece he wants he shunts back here and grabs it.”

  
“So he’s wreaking havoc in this and in our own universe? Ravel truly is a gift that keeps on giving.” Valkyrie says. 

  
“He still has to learn the owner's schedule to avoid walking into them, but he’s always been observant and patient.” Skulduggery says. 

  
“I don’t like this. I don’t want to see him killed, because we don’t know who the Ravel of this reality is. But on the other hand, I can’t stop thinking that in this universe he’s worked his way up right into classic villainy.” Valkyrie says. 

  
“Makes you wonder if it’s in his nature to betray the people who trust him. We can post guards in our universe. Dexter can help coordinate. That way sooner or later he has to walk into one of us.” 

  
“Since when do our plans ever work? Especially the ones that sound so simple?” he laughs at that and the sound is warm and comforting. 

  
“You seem to be settling in. Meritorious values your opinion.” He says after a moment of silence. 

  
“It’s nice to be listened to for a change.” She says. In this universe, she isn’t Darquesse. Here she’s just Valkyrie Cain, the girl that wants to help make this world a better place. “I missed being the hero. I know it’s stupid and after what I’ve done I don’t deserve to tell these people what to do. But I like feeling like I am making a difference every now and then.” She confesses, her sleepiness untying her tongue. 

  
“You don’t have to be ashamed of your desire to help those who need it. Your past shouldn’t cut off paths in your present.” Skulduggery says.

  
“What about the future?” She asks and yawns. There hasn’t been another vision with Alice in it. Maybe they already undid that. 

  
“We change the future. We’re good at that, remember?” There’s no future for the Skulduggery in this universe, she realises. Part of her is sad because of it, another thinks that Lord Vile deserved his death. Her thoughts are too heavy for this hour, she muses and slumps down on the headboard. 

  
“Till the end.” She murmurs. The five years in Colorado were hell. When she imagines her future she hopes he’ll still be by her side. She wants to do nothing more than continue their adventures, finally able to accept the costs. Valkyrie thinks about telling him all this, but her eyes have closed and she succumbs. Maybe I tell him tomorrow, she thinks before she slips back into dream. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't want to put Ravel in the tags for spoiler reasons^^ So what are your thoughts? Did you miss the man with the golden eyes? I certainly did. I never felt like his storyline was quite finished yet. For me, he was one of the more three-dimensional characters of the whole series.  
> What are your thoughts on the Leibnitz Universe? I love to hear your thoughts and theories.  
> Also, every time Skul calls Val dear in canon I get all mushy. <3


	4. Two Worlds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys,  
> I hope you're doing okay and practice social distancing by reading a buttload of fanfiction at home.  
> Here we go again, after this little chapter the plot dials down... and we finally(!) get some Val/Skul action. I know that's all you've been waiting for :D It's gonna be sweet

The next day Meritorious declares Erskine Ravel a wanted man. Valkyrie and Tanith help the guards put up posters, while Skulduggery talks to China over the mirror. In the evening Fletcher shunts over, while Skulduggery is still absent. It takes some time to give the other side all the information they need to watch out for Ravel. 

  
Valkyrie asks Fletcher how things are going at Corrival. He tells her and Tanith that Omen, Auger and Never are steadily growing into a force to be reckoned with. When Tanith does Valkyrie the favour and asks about how the teachers are doing she is glad, but nonetheless not prepared for the answer. 

  
“There’s been some drama. Uh, Militsa and Arabella got into a huge fight because Militsa is seeing someone and Arabella thinks they should get back together.” Fletcher says, looking uncomfortable.

  
“Okay, I guess that’s fine. A bit fast, one might think, but Militsa can do as she likes. I’m not angry or anything. Maybe she needed someone to snuggle up. Her feet get cold. Maybe it’s that.” Valkyrie babbles. 

  
“I’m sure that’s it, Val.” Tanith says and Fletcher and her exchange a look, before the blonde continues softly: “Val, you might not have noticed but things between you and Militsa weren’t exactly balanced.”

  
“Yeah, I’m starting to see that.” Valkyrie rubs a hand over her face, “I hate it when my exes find someone new first.” Valkyrie growls. Why is she so bad at relationships?

  
“To my credit, my next girlfriend was an assassin sent to kill me. I don’t think that counts.” 

  
“A pretty girl like you, Val, will find someone else in a jiffy.” Tanith says and pats her on the back, Valkyrie grumbles something illegible. 

  
They are on high alert the whole week. Skulduggery and Valkyrie bring Fletcher to every house they expect Ravel might break in to. She can tell that the mages out on the street make Fletcher nervous. He’s never been to another universe and this one is confusing with its odd mixture of the strange and familiar.

  
It’s in the middle of the night when the alarm sounds. Valkyrie snaps awake, activates the necronaut amulet and grabs her shock stick. She meets the others outside her room. Skulduggery’s hand finds her waist as Valkyrie grabs Tanith’s hand. They’re inside the building in a blink.

  
“He’s in there!” Aurora Temple, the house owner, lays on the floor. She’s holding her calf as if she’s injured. Skulduggery bursts the door open for them. The thing about a good trap is that you only realise you walked into it when it’s too late. Aurora attacks Tanith. One man walks out of the shadows and takes Valkyrie into a choking hold, while another approaches from the front to kick at her chins. Valkyrie doesn’t fall, her stance too solid. She hooks her thumbs under the chokehold and twists. She turns and pulls at the guy’s hands. The man rolls over her hip and goes down. A lightning blast puts him out of commission. The other guy doesn’t wait and springs at her again. She brings some distance between them, needs to get a feel for him first. Valkyrie gets a punch in and doesn’t let him undermine her defences.

  
Aurora is blasting energy at Tanith with both fists and Fletcher is flickering in and out behind the other two men, swinging various weapons from the Sanctuary’s armoury. Skulduggery went after Ravel. A dresser slides over the floor when a wave of sharp air cuts through it. And a shelf catches fire when Ravel misses Skulduggery. Valkyrie and her attacker engage, their fight brings her close enough to the others to let her hear what Ravel is saying. 

  
“I don’t want to fight you, old friend.” Ravel says, kicking against Skulduggery’s wrist. He doesn’t let go of his dagger and swings in a wide arch that Ravel ducks under. 

  
“You don’t know me.” Skulduggery says. Ravel throws a fireball that bursts against Skulduggery’s shoulder. Valkyrie manages to bring her opponent down with a judo move. Another kick and he’s out cold. Valkyrie flicks around to throw lightning at Aurora.

  
“Two worlds and in each you’re all blind.” Ravel continues. “You brought this on yourselves.” 

  
Something as golden as his eyes glints in the light. The intricate pieces of the medal hang around his neck, fused together. Half of it is missing. At least that means he hasn’t been able to use it yet. Tanith jumps from the ceiling, knocks out the guy that Fletcher wasn’t able to cut loose.

  
“You did me a favour actually, Skulduggery. I’m thinking about extending my range. Your world needs my help more than mine.” Ravel says. Skulduggery’s attacks are sharp and fast, but Ravel blocks each. The former Dead Men know each other too well. 

  
“I don’t want to do this.” Ravel says. Skulduggery’s bones crunch when another hit lands.

  
“Oh, but I do.” Skulduggery says. He throws his dagger. Ravel’s eyes widen when it finds his shoulder. Aurora lets out a scream and barrels into Valkyrie to reach Ravel. Skulduggery lunges forward. Ravel flickers and then he’s gone, leaving Skulduggery with the blood dripping dagger in his grip. Valkyrie jabs at Aurora’s throat and she staggers. Skulduggery gets in behind them and twists her arm on her back. He holds the dagger up to her throat. 

  
“Talk, now!” Skulduggery says, low and dangerous. It sends a shiver down Valkyrie’s spine. They cuff her and bind her to a chair. Valkyrie drags the chair to the middle of the living room. Tanith and Fletcher secured the other four attackers. It doesn’t take them long to find out that they’re hired muscle. Aurora has been paying them well, but they don’t know who they are or what their clients are up to.

  
“You’re Ravel’s girlfriend.” Valkyrie says. On closer inspection, there are signs that she isn’t living as alone as she claimed. 

  
“This is a cheap copy.” Skulduggery says. He has the piece of Aurora’s part of the medal in his hand. He crushes it in his fist and golden shards rain down like flower petals.

  
“Who do you think gave Erskine the idea of assembling it? I gave him the first piece.” Aurora says. She is a tall brunette with violet eyes, the same colour as the energy she can throw. 

  
“You’ve got bad taste in boyfriends.” Fletcher says. He’s leaning against a wall, observing the Arbiters and Tanith do their work. There’s a nasty cut on his cheek that gives him something rakish. 

  
“Erskine loves me.” Aurora says. “All he wants is to bring some order back to the world and you people won’t let him.” 

  
“Don’t you think he would have stayed and fought with you if he loved you, Aurora? Erskine used you. He has a tendency to do that.” Skulduggery says. She laughs.   
“You have no idea. What will you do to me anyway? You think of yourselves as the good guys, the villains always do. It wont take me long to escape one of Meritorious cosy prisons.” 

  
“We might not torture you, but the Sensitives will crack your mind wide open.” Tanith says.

  
“I’ve got nothing to hide.” Aurora says. 

.oOo.

Aurora is right, once her mental walls break down two days later, the Sensitives find nothing they didn’t already know or guessed at, with one exception: The pieces of the medal fit together no matter from which universe they’re from. Ravel and Aurora just discovered this. Just like the Sceptre of the Ancients, the medals are identical. Which means they’re on a wild scavenger hunt. Too many pieces are spread too wide in the two worlds. Even with China’s and Dexter’s help they can’t be in two universes at the same time. Valkyrie feels her frustration get the better of her. She’s tired and grouchy, so Tanith and Valkyrie start a sparring match to calm down.

  
There’s knock on her door when Valkyrie steps out of her shower and is about to get dressed. 

  
“Come in.” She calls, puts some fresh underwear on and activates her suit. 

  
“Are you decent?” Skulduggery asks as she opens the door to walk into her bedroom. 

  
“Can you be my personal hairdryer?” she asks and whisks her long wet hair over her shoulder to straighten it out. 

  
“By now you should be-.” She raises an eyebrow at him. 

  
“You were saying?” instead of answering he moves his fingers to direct the air around her. It only takes a moment before her hair is done. 

  
“Thank you.” She sits down in the chair next to the writing desk, the only other prominent furniture of her room. He leans against the desk with his back and his elbows behind him. 

  
“I talked to China and Eachan. Erskine has to lick his wounds and this city is no longer a save place for him.” Skulduggery says. 

  
“Are we relocating?” she wants to know.

  
“For now, yes. Our universe has its own version of Aurora Temple.”

  
“Does our version hate mortals too?” Valkyrie asks. 

  
“Yes, I believe he might go to her for information. If we’re unlucky the Erskine of our world also knew her. It’d make them even more dangerous if they’re familiar.” She remembers Mevolent and Serafina vividly. They didn’t originate from the same dimension and nonetheless did they fall for each other again. Maybe the same will happen with Aurora and Ravel.

  
“He’ll try to lay low for a while, right? Before he tries to get another piece. You got him pretty bad and he can’t go to one of our healers. Even if Ravel visited our dimension a lot, I doubt he knows enough to build a new following.” 

  
“That would take time. He’s playing the long game. I don’t believe this version of him will live among mortals. He might hide in Roarhaven.” Skulduggery says. 

  
“God, I miss home. I miss Xena and the Internet. I have no idea what people do for entertainment around here.” She puts her chin in her hand and allows herself to sulk a little. She doesn’t miss Militsa that much anymore. Not after Fletcher’s news from last week. She’s also been busy with working and training, if anything, she misses the intimacy two people can share.

  
“I miss my hats.” He says whimsically. She laughs at that, pats his leg in camaraderie. 

  
“Of course you do.” She coons. 

  
“I’m feeling oddly patronised.” He says. 

  
“Whatever gave you that idea?” she asks with a grin and takes her hand away. 

  
“So we need to find the people that could become Ravel’s potential alleys. The ones that sympathised with our world’s Ravel.” She concludes. 

  
“You heard what he said. Looking at our universe he must feel disgust. We’re the ones that live in a world governed by moral laws. Ruled by technology instead of magic. He’ll think he’ll be helping us by trying to overthrow the mortals.” 

  
“Our Ravel never wanted to rule himself. Do you think that’s changed?” she asks. 

  
Skulduggery shrugs, “In this world, he never had to hold back. I bet that did wonders to his ego. And if he gets the medal to work there wont be an opposition. Even China will bow her head if he asks her to.” 

  
“I think we should talk to Serpine. He lead the Resistance, he must have had an eye on Ravel. He might have something to say about his plans.”

  
“Good idea. There’s an event coming up where all the important people will gather. Aurora will be there. We should go and try to find out who else might have heard of Erskine.” 

  
“What kind of event?” she asks. 

  
“Temper Fray and Kierre of the Unveiled are getting married. Well, not officially. Our churches won’t allow it. But there’ll be a ceremony inside one of the mansions Kierre owns.” 

  
“Do I have to wear a fancy dress?” she wants to know. Excitement bubbles up. People have started treating her more like herself than Darquesse. A party might actually be fun and Skulduggery will be there to have her back. 

  
“The fanciest you may find.” He says and leans back on his elbows. There’s a smile in his voice. 

  
“Will there be dancing?” 

  
“It’s a wedding. There’ll be plenty of dancing.”

  
“Oh boy.” Valkyrie says and bites her lip. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dancing you say? Oh yes, I was so unsatisfied when Derek gave us the Requiem Ball and we didn't see Skul and Val dance. Why? I want a redo!  
> Let me know what you think in the comments and give the kudo-button a gentle caress if you like this fic so far. I'll upload the next chapter in a few days, to deliver on the Valduggery tag in the description.


	5. The Requiem Ball Reprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies,  
> I hope you're staying safe. As promised we're finally getting closer to what we've all been waiting for. The romancy, mushy, fluffy bits. So put on some tunes and enjoy the dance <3

Her dress is gorgeous. Dark green silk that flows around her long legs. The skull pendant dangles from her neck. Skulduggery wears pinstripes with a tie that picks up the colour of her dress. His shirt is dark and his cuff links reflect the soft light of the dance hall. 

  
“We match.” She says and smooths down his tie though it doesn’t need smoothing. 

  
“It’s almost as if you didn’t text me about your dress and set this up.” He says and tilts his head in his version of an eye roll. There’s little food-thingies, _canapes_ and champaign. The ceremony is already over and Valkyrie feels like they might indulge a little, before they try to put their noses where they don’t belong. 

  
“First objective: talk to Ravel’s sympathisers.” She says and links arms with Skulduggery. She’s spotted Militsa and her new girlfriend among the dancers. “Second objective: Make my ex-girlfriend regret her life choices.” She doesn’t feel especially malicious, but a girl gotta do what a girl gotta do. Valkyrie is obligated to at least acknowledge her in some way, right?

  
“How will you accomplish that?” he asks, following her gaze. Valkyrie knows most of the people at the wedding. Most hate her, that’s nothing new, but among the people that might actually tolerate her no one in particular stands out. Sure there are some hot guys and pretty girls among them, but the thought of having to flirt with them makes the hairs on the back of her neck rise up. It’d be wrong, though she can’t find the root of her reluctance.

  
“I’ll need a willing accomplice, don’t you think? Do you think China will dance with me?” He starts laughing. A full body laugh that makes him bend over.   
“I despise you.” She growls, “China danced with you at the Requiem Ball, her taste is already abyssal. There’s only the way up.”

  
“While I love being the topic of conversation, I will not dance with either of you.” The Supreme Mage says. China’s gaze says its all. Tonight they are too ridiculous for her to be regarded as worthy dance partners. Her slender hand reaches for a champaign flute and she clinks her glass against Valkyrie’s. 

  
“You look ravishing, dear.” China tells her. Her own dress is a monstrosity of dark feathers that shows her shoulders. She somehow pulls it off effortlessly. Her lips and nails are the colour of fresh blood. 

  
“You look like a Disney villain. I love it.” Valkyrie says. 

  
“Thank you. I’m checking in. From across the hall, you two somehow left the distinct impression on me that you weren’t working as hard as I expect from my Arbiters. So I decided, in a show of goodwill and friendship, to take matters into my own hands.” China says. She looks at them like they’re a great source of amusement to her, but is unwilling to admit it. 

  
“Your schemes are certainly masterfully executed, but I assure you Valkyrie and I are very hard at work.” Skulduggery lies and withdraws his hand from her back. Huh, she hadn’t even noticed it being there. 

  
“Flattery won’t save you, Skulduggery.” China says and Valkyrie grins. She loves it when he gets rebuked and she can lean back and watch the carnage. So few people get one in over Skulduggery.

  
“I planted a tracker on Aurora Temple when I walked past. My schemes are indeed masterfully executed. Have a lovely night.” China says. 

  
“You too.” Valkyrie says, too surprised by her helping hand to say more. Thanks to China half of this night’s agenda is dealt with. 

  
“Don’t look so grim. You should really learn to appreciate it when someone throws you a lifeline.” China says, puts her hand to Skulduggery’s forearm for a moment before she vanishes as suddenly as she appeared. 

  
“I feel like I’ve been put under house arrest by my Mum, if my Mum were a scary femme fatale.” Valkyrie says. Her eyes follow China as she starts a conversation with a handsome mage. 

  
“Does this feel like she’s up to something to you?” Skulduggery asks and taps his chin. 

  
“It’s China.” Valkyrie shrugs, “I’d be worried if she isn’t up so multiple somethings simultaneously.” 

  
“We should probably do as she says and _socialise_.” He sounds like he’s talking about a deadly disease. 

  
“First things first. I picked my victim.” Valkyrie says and grips his wrist. “You gotta dance with me Mr Pleasant.”

  
“Valkyrie,-” he begins, but she puts her campaign flute away and drags him to the dance floor. 

  
“How do we do this?” she asks when they reached the other dancers. He takes her hands, puts one on his shoulder. Then he places his own on her waist.   
“I trust you know the steps?” he asks. 

  
“Uh.” Valkyrie lets out. The reflection had some rudimentary dance lessons at school. That was ages ago, she doubts she can remember any of them. He lets out a long suffering sigh. 

  
“Put your feet where my feet are not. This is a simple waltz.” Skulduggery instructs. She thinks he’s kidding, but that’s pretty much what she needs to do. His sense of tact is impeccable and he’s a strong lead, so all she needs to do is watch both their feet to get a feeling for it. It reminds her of when he first taught her how to fight. She had to copy his moves. One song changes into the next, but it’s silently agreed that they are not done yet. 

  
“This isn’t as hard as I thought it would be.” Valkyrie says, finally confident enough to look up. 

  
“I think there’s a lesson for you in here. All you needed to do is let someone else take the lead.” He says and pulls her closer by the waist.

  
“Really?” Valkyrie asks and pushes against his grip to change the course of their turn. “Did that ever work for us?” She steps on his toes with the next beat and laughs when he angles his head in mock-disappointment. 

  
“It seems no amount of musical finesse is a match for a terrible partner.” He says.

  
“Hey!” she’d slap his arm if they weren’t moving so fast. 

  
“Watch out.” He warns her, before he swings her around and brings her in close again. She laughs in delight. 

  
“Let me.” She demands. This is fun. Why have they never done this before? 

  
“I already lost enough of my dignity tonight.” 

  
“Please.” He loosens his grip and with the added height of her heels, she manages to let him do a full spin.

  
“You’re a menace.” He says when they’re face to face again. 

  
“Aw.” She drawls and lets go of his grip. She puts both hands close behind his neck and he has to place his free hand at her waist. “You wouldn’t have me any other way.” She says. 

.oOo.

The party attendants get drunker and the music louder as time passes. Valkyrie and Skulduggery use the late hour to their advantage and stretch out their feelers. They work best when they stay close together. They both charm their way into conversations and put their wit to good use. Most people are aware of them, but some are too drunk to care at this point. Skulduggery leaves his hand at the small of her back for most of the time and once Valkyrie sees Militsa give them a questioning look. It sends a shiver down her spine. Something stirs in the undercurrent of her thoughts, the thing that has been bugging her more often lately. She gives Skulduggery a sidelong glance. 

  
Skulduggery is making an offhand joke to one of the Sanctuary mages when it drops like lead in her stomach. 

  
“Are you okay, Valkyrie?” a voice asks. Her head jerks up and she meets Dexter’s eyes. How long has he been standing here making conversation? 

  
“Sure.” Valkyrie says. I think I fancy Skulduggery, is what she means to say. 

  
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Dexter says. I think I’m in love with a skeleton, the voice in her head continues unbidden. Her life is a sham. Somewhere someone must be having a good laugh at her fate. 

  
“Dexter, did you ever have a moment where something has been right in front of you and it took you bloody ages to figure it out?”

  
“Yeah.” He shrugs. “Is this about the case?”

  
“Nope.” Valkyrie pops the ‘p’. Skulduggery picks up on the change in her mood and their conversations draw to a close. She stays silent as they make their way to the Bentley. She should have taken the Oopma Loompa, but getting out of a classic car in a dress like hers has more flair. They go over what they’ve found out at the wedding as they drive. Arthur Dagan’s cousin stands out. She had the same education, was loyal to Mevolent, but never a great follower of the Church of the Faceless Ones. Penelope Vice never actively engaged with political affairs at the Sanctuaries, but her money tends to land in the pockets of the important players. Skulduggery remembers that their Ravel mentioned her favourably once. 

  
“Skulduggery, can I ask you a question?” she asks when they roll into Grimwood’s driveway. 

  
“You just did.” He says but gestures with one hand to go on. 

  
“Did you ever consider that things might change between us?” 

  
“Do you mean, when I found out your were Darquesse and after? Considering Vile, I don’t think we could do anything that’ll disappoint the other at this point.” he says. She isn’t sure herself what she wants to ask him, but under her skin, there’s an urge she needs to follow through. 

  
“I mean in more general terms. Sorcerers live for centuries. I’ve known you for most of my life, but I’ve only been in your life for a fraction.” She says and undoes her seatbelt. Her legs drown in her dress when she is sitting down and fabric rustles when she fully turns to face him. 

  
“All relationships constantly evolve. But I can say knowing you has made for some of the most interesting experiences in my life. Is that about the talk we had about the future?”   
“If I imagine ten years or fifty years from now, we’re both sitting in this car.” She confesses, “Promise me that won’t ever change, no matter what I do next.” Valkyrie doesn’t wait for his answer. She places her palm flat against his chest and puts the other around his jaw. She leans into him, her eyes flutter shut as she presses a kiss against his teeth. He tenses up under her. The air leaves her lungs and she leans back. Her eyes must be wide with shock. He has gone completely still.

  
“Shit, sorry. I thought- but you didn’t.” Her shoulders slump, “I shouldn’t have done that.” Valkyrie’s heart beats in her chest, she needs to get out of here. Her fingers stumble over the door handle, his hand stops her before she can open the door. 

  
“Valkyrie wait!” He says. 

  
“No, you obviously don’t get it. We can pretend it never happened.” She argues. 

  
“Please stop.” She sits back down. God, she shouldn’t have done this in the Bentley. She should have done it someplace with an emergency exit. Her spine feels like there’s cement between the joints as she forces herself to meet his gaze. 

  
“Did you do that because you’re unhappy about how things ended with Militsa?” he asks, she can hear the tension in his voice like a drawn bowstring about to snap. 

  
“What? Do you think I’m using you to get back at her?” the thought never occurred to her. She’s ready to admit that she tends to enjoy being petty, but there’s no correlation in her mind between this and being scorned by Militsa. 

  
“I don’t know what to think.” He admits. 

  
“I’d never do that to you. How childish do you think I am? You’re my best friend, usually, I don’t go around kissing my friends.” She focuses on the hysteria his rejection has brought on, it’s easy. It keeps the sadness and disappointment at bay, that will drown out everything else if she lets it.

  
“But then why did you do it? You said earlier you wanted to get back at her.” 

  
“Skulduggery, this,” she gestures between them, “isn’t exactly a new development.” 

  
His jaw slightly slackens. 

  
“It isn’t?” he asks. 

  
“Oh God, I feel so stupid.” She finally gives in and buries her head in her hands. That way she doesn’t need to look at him any more. 

  
“Valkyrie.” His hands are on hers and she lets him pry them open. His movements are slow, like he is afraid sudden movements will spook her. 

  
“Tell me what you mean by that. Why isn’t this new? It certainly is for me.” He continues, doesn’t let go of her hands.

  
“Things are going to be okay between us, if I tell you, right?” He said he loved her before, in one way or another. After she lived this down they might get back to normal. 

  
“You don’t need to ask. Tell me what brought this on, please.” Skulduggery says. He’s leaning toward her. Not for the first time she wished he had his facade on so she could try to read his expression because his voice gives nothing away. She takes a big huff of air, before she tells him the truth: “I think I first noticed before I left for America, before things went to shit. I don’t know Skulduggery. My perspective of you changed. There wasn’t some big eye opening event. You were just there, present in my life and so damn annoying. It slipped by and I didn’t try to figure it out. I knew if I did there would be trouble. And what we have, it’s the most important thing in my life. I didn’t want to mess it up with my stupid feelings.” 

  
“Valkyrie, you didn’t mess up.” His thumbs are soothing over the back of her hands. Skulduggery hasn’t let go.

  
“I’m sorry it took me so long to figure out what I wanted. But that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t have stopped and used my brain for a second to ask you what you want first.” 

  
“Are you meaning to tell me, that were I about to kiss you, you’d let me?” Skulduggery asks. She gulps, blinks, nods once at the sudden turn of events. 

  
“But Valkyrie, we could have done that ages ago, why now?”

  
“I guess I’m just that daft.” She says. They stare at each other for a moment that feels like ages.

  
“So are you going to kiss me?” she wants to know. 

  
“If you want me to.” He picks this time to be a gentleman about things. Incredible. Valkyrie rolls her eyes, feels like a mountain has been lifted from her chest. 

  
“Just do it, you goon.” He guides her with a hand at her neck. His thumb smooths over her cheek. She’s kissed him on his cheekbones before. Darquesse kissed him as she killed him in that vision. This is different. She feels clumsy. Without lips and a tongue she puts in most of the work, but she doesn’t want to use the facade. It’s important to her that he knows that she prefers him like this. 

  
Not needing to breath has its advantages she thinks, as Skulduggery’s hand fists in her hair. He applies just enough pressure to make her toes curl. She leans against him, no longer mourning the absence of lips. Her fingers feel the ridges of the bones of his neck. The touch is light, but curious. She wonders if this feels alright to him. She’s never had the opportunity to touch him like this before. Her other hand slips into his jacket to clasp his shoulder. His hand presses in at the small of her back. Her knee brushes against his thighs when she tries for more leverage. Skulduggery pulls back, ends the kiss with a nibble at her bottom lip. 

  
“We gotta stop.” He says. His voice is husky and she relishes in the sensation of having had that effect on him. 

  
“Why?” she asks without turning to sit back down. 

  
“You’re about to hit your head on the car roof.” He says. She blinks upwards. He is right. There isn’t enough room in the front seat of the Bentley for two people as tall as them. Not for whatever they were about to do. She laughs and lets her head drop against his clavicle. 

  
“I can’t believe we just did that.” She says against the fabric of his suit. 

  
“That makes two of us.” Skulduggery says softly. They entangle their limbs and she sits back in her seat with an ungainly huff. Her first attempt they could have swiped under the proverbial rug, but there’s no coming back from this. The thought doesn’t leave her as troubled as she feared, mainly because it’s Skulduggery that’s in this situation with her. It feels right.

  
“So I haven’t been the only one that’s been wondering.” She says. 

  
“Oh, I wondered if you’d wondered.” He says. She knows he’d be grinning, pleased with himself, if he had a face. 

  
“Puts our detective work into a pretty bad light, eh?” Valkyrie says. 

  
“Valkyrie, It’s been years for me.” Skulduggery admits like he needs to even the odds. His fingers tap nervously on the dashboard. Valkyrie takes his hand into hers. She thinks it is allowed now. Her fingertips map out the bones underneath, the hollows and ridges of his palm under the leather. It makes her wonder if he’d be comfortable enough to take them off in her presence. But that thought leads to another and she isn’t sure she’s ready to go there yet. 

  
“Ditto.” She says before she lets out a sigh. It’s one of those days where so much happened she can’t seem to fit it all in her head. “I think that’s enough insanity for one day, Skulduggery.” He raises their joined hands to his face, places his version of a kiss against the back of her hand. 

  
“Goodnight, Valkyrie.” He says. 

  
“Goodnight, Skulduggery.” She says and gets out of the car. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had great fun writing them. Skul and Val are fantastic together, a force to be reckoned with. But they're also big idiots when it comes to talking about their true feelings and better at showing through action what is going on inside their heads. I'm a sucker for the idea that Val would basically have to seduce Skulduggery because he'd be way too cautious with her.
> 
> Also, China ships it XD I remember her POV thoughts on Fletcher, where she basically thought Fletch would get the short end of the stick because there's no place between Val and Skul that needs filling.
> 
> Tell me about your Valduggery feels in the comments or leave me a lovely kudo. Writing romance is always a juggling act of emotions, so I'd love to hear your thoughts <3


	6. The Man in the White Castle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies,  
> I hope you had a good few days. My country decided it's time to ease up on the quarantine and I'm back to work * cries one manly tear* It's been nice at home. Work isn't very punk, man. I hope you're staying save and tucked away. Sadly this new capitalist development means I'll be updating this fic less frequently. But you can count on me to finish it. Everything's written, I only have to upload the chapters. If you like it leave a kudo or even a comment. It'll make my day <3 
> 
> This chapter is 1/3 Valdug fluff and 2/3 Serpine snark. Enjoy!

Xena wakes her by breathing hot air right into her face. Valkyrie squirms. For long minutes she lies awake staring at her ceiling. The events of last night wash past and Valkyrie feels boneless and isn’t that ironic? Xena lets out a soft whine. Her thoughts disjointed, she gets up. She feels especially useless, so the day can only get better from this state of madness. Wrapping herself in a dressing gown she traipses down the stairs, Xena hot on her heels. She is glad she managed to get under the shower last night, so there is no grime on her face. Xena bolts outside as soon as the back door is opened. For a moment Valkyrie soaks in the crisp morning air, closes her eyes as the sun rays meet her face. 

  
She turns her head and opens her eyes when she hears a noise and a stifled scream escapes her. 

  
“What are you doing here?” she asks and slaps Skulduggery’s elbow. 

  
“I don’t really know. Waiting for you to get up.” 

  
“Oh my God and I thought my dog adores me. You’re a nut case.” 

  
“So it seems, but I’m the fun kind of nut case.” 

  
“Shoo, get inside.” She gestures for him to get moving and he follows her into the kitchen. Where she decidedly ignores him while she makes cereal and puts on the kettle. The days of him being sneaky had stopped once she moved into Grimwood, she muses, but then, he has never been a fan of front doors. He’s changed clothes, which means he hasn’t stayed at the house all night like a creepy stalker. 

  
“I admit I feel kind of witless about the whole situation.” He says adjusting his cuffs while Valkyrie starts crunching on her cereal. They’re standing by the kitchen island.

  
“I’m sure that’s a first.” She needles. “You don’t even have a brain. I’m sure most of your thoughts just go poof, into nothing.” She memes a bursting cloud next to her own ear. 

  
“What a carefree existence that would be. I’m afraid things are not quite as easy.” He says. He keeps his hands busy by pouring her some tea right before the kettle is about to whistle. 

  
“You haven’t kissed me good morning yet.” She says.

  
“Is that something we do now?” he asks and steps closer. 

  
“I’m not sure. We should try it out and compare notes afterwards.” She says. He reaches inside his shirt to tap his collar bones. She can’t help the face she makes when the visage of a young blond man comes into existence. 

  
“Not a good one?” he asks. 

  
“The faces don’t matter, Skulduggery. It’s a disguise for work. We can do without.” She reaches out to reactivate it again and while she’s close she ventures a kiss. It’s rare that she catches Skulduggery off guard. She thinks she’s getting the hang of it. Kissing him might not have anything to do with the kisses she shared with other people, but she never enjoyed kissing them as much as she does him. He’s cornered against the counter and she draws it out. Skulduggery lets out a low appreciative hum that reverberates through her when she pulls back. 

  
“What’s the verdict?” he asks. 

  
“I should demand good morning kisses more often.” Valkyrie says. His hands linger at her waist like he needs something to hold on to. 

  
“Valkyrie, how far do you want to take this?” There’s something to his voice she barely recognises. It’s uncertainty. Even considering Abyssinia, it has been a long time for him. Additionally, his relationship with his evil ex and theirs are nothing alike. 

  
“However far you’ll let me go.” She says, rests her hands on his lapels. 

  
“This is the part where I feel obligated to remind you that I am, in fact, very much a dead man.” 

  
“Oh really, silly me, I had forgotten.” Valkyrie says and laughs softly.

  
“You don’t mind?” there it is again, that unfamiliar uncertainty. She feels all gooey, like the mere fact that they have this now is softening her up.

  
“Never did.” She says. He drops his gaze, turns them around before he brings some distance between them.

  
“You don’t believe me?” she asks.

  
“I do, but it gives me a lot to consider. Valkyrie, I never thought we’d get this far.” Skulduggery says. 

  
“It’s scary.” She says and shrugs. 

  
“What are your plans for today?” he asks, letting the matter drop. 

  
“I’m getting coffee with Serpine.” She says and makes a face, before she gets back to her abandoned cereal. 

  
“Does he still have this thing about lattes?” She nods, that’s precisely why they are getting coffee, instead of just meeting to talk. 

  
“Maybe his new goal in life is to never sleep again.” She says, considering his caffeine and sugar intake. 

  
“Death by sleep deprivation, I doubt it.” Skulduggery said, “While you take that tantamount task into your own hands, I need to check on something.”

  
“Are you planning something?” she asked. 

  
He shakes his head, “No.”

  
“You won’t tell me?” she asks with a raised eyebrow. Odd.

  
“Later.” He promises. They draw out their goodbye. Xena interrupts them when she wages in and wriggles between their feet to get in on the fun. By then Valkyrie is already behind schedule. She lets out her road rage by using the Oompa Loompa’s horn, as she drives into Dublin’s city centre to get to the posh coffee house Serpine selected. As she locks up the car she is well aware of the setting. She’s in civilian clothing and so is Serpine. It doesn’t mean he is unarmed, but there won't be any fights, no matter what he’ll tell her. Not while they’re surrounded by mortals.

  
Ten minutes later, she puts his order in front of him. A decadent frothy thing with sprinkles on top.

  
“This cost me a fortune.” She says as she sits at the table. 

  
“I’d say it’s nice to see you, but then I remember that I hate you.” Serpine says. He rolls a little sugar packet between the fingers of his gloved fake hand. Valkyrie fights the urge to slap it out of his grip. He smiles, puts the sugar back. 

  
“How’s my least favourite pair of arbiters doing? Is the obnoxious skeleton still rattling around?” he asks, takes a cautious sip of his concoction. 

  
“I’m not here to talk about Skulduggery and me.” She says. 

  
“So there is something to talk about. Interesting.” He says. That viper, she thinks. She should have put poison in that latte. China would probably give her an award for it. 

  
“Careful Nefarian, we don’t want your face to hit that table. Repeatedly.” Valkyrie says. 

  
He spreads his hands wide in front of his chest to placate her. 

  
“And there I thought you’d begun to value my presence in the long months we spent as comrades.” 

  
“I need information, Nefarian. About the Erskine Ravel of your home universe.” He must know something. She can tell by the way he smiles.

  
“And what will you give me in return for my services?” he asks. 

  
“I won't hit you as hard as I want next time we see each other out of mortal eyes.”

  
“Hm, that’s not how I conduct business, I’m afraid.” He interlinks his fingers in front of his face, elbows on the tabletop. 

  
“What do you want?” she gives in. 

  
“I want a talk with the Supreme Mage about freeing up the assets of my doppelgänger. He owned a lot of land and artefacts. It only seems fair that I inherit everything, as he no longer has a need for them thanks to Skulduggery.” That brings up the question of where he lives and what he does to own money, but then she reminds herself that she doesn’t care. 

  
“One talk with China, only. I won’t promise you anything or how long the talk will be. You’re lucky. As long as you’re still useful we won't harm you.” Valkyrie says.

  
“Then I intend to continue to be useful.” He says. They talk through the finer points of Ravel’s existence. His time as a Dead Man. The years after, when Skulduggery left and Ravel and Meritorious started to get into arguments. Serpine remembers Ravel as a worthy rival. He never gave in to Mevolent’s teachings, but once Serpine did his own little piece of backstabbing and left his master’s side, they never engaged much. The time Serpine spent as leader of the Resistance, they didn’t meet as enemies. 

  
“Ravel must have been planning something. I knew I needed to keep an eye on him. Sooner or later he’d oppose the Resistance head on.” Serpine says. 

  
“Have you ever heard of the exousian medal?” she asks. His emerald eyes go big with appreciation. 

  
“Is he collecting it? If he manages to restore even a fraction of the medal’s influence he’ll be a danger to my home universe.” Serpine says.

  
“He is. But last we checked Ravel wasn’t in your universe. He came here. He could be ogling our pieces. You know him better than we ever knew our Ravel. Because you know what he’s capable of. A man like you might also know about the whereabouts of several of the medal’s pieces. Where can we expect him to strike next?” Valkyrie asks. Serpine starts laughing. It’s the laugh of the insane, there’s no restraint. He only stops to finish his latte. 

  
“Ah, this is good. This is so good. Skulduggery hasn’t told you about the biggest piece. The one that could restore most of its former glory.” 

  
“Where is it?” she asks. They never talked about a piece of the medal as important as that. 

  
“Oh, I checked when I first made my little nest here. All the little differences. All the similarities and then there are some precautions your people never had to take, some magical discoveries you haven’t made yet. Things are all out in the open in this universe. Ready for the taking. Are you aware that the important magical families keep their special paraphernalia locked away inside their own houses instead of a community vault? A trend that continues in my home universe, but fell out of fashion in yours. Naturally, the biggest piece of the medal resides inside the family vault of Lord Vile. I had a glimpse before Vile decimated the place on Mevolent’s command. I’m not sure about you, Valkyrie, but I’d know which person is correspondent in this universe. The piece still exists here. The place is the same. Only the man, not quite.” He’s enjoying this, holding all the good cards in his hands.

  
“You know. Since when did you know?” 

  
He shrugs, “It wasn’t that hard to figure out. I know a thing or two about necromancy. Killing Skulduggery Pleasant,” he says, twirls his fake hand between their faces, “felt different than all the other people that found their way into my clutches. I knew the man who brought him back. He played me. Obviously Skulduggery didn’t come back quite as adjusted inside my universe as in yours, or you’d be having bigger problems than Erskine Ravel.” 

  
“And you never confronted Vile about it? You were both Mevolent’s generals. Did it never come up, or- You were scared of him.” She concludes.

  
“Being scared of Vile is nothing shameful. But what would I be able to gain by confronting him, or by using the truth against him? He’d get to me either way. And there was no leverage. His family was already gone, his friends long since forgotten. Vile’s a man without substance, there’s no skin to get under.” Serpine says, almost regretful.

  
“So assuming Skulduggery was checking on the piece of the medal in his family vault. Where would I look for him?”

  
Serpine’s grin is wolfish, “So he hasn’t let you in on all his secrets.” Valkyrie opens her mouth to defend Skulduggery and tell Serpine that he abandoned his crest a long time ago, but then she remembers that it’s information Serpine doesn’t need. 

  
“Where, Nefarian?” she asks. 

  
“Fairhall Castle.” He says. She’s out of her seat the next instant. Serpine yells something after her, but she’s already calling Skulduggery. It goes straight to voice mail. She unlocks the car and calls China instead.

  
“We may have a problem.” She says. There’s a sigh on the other end of the line.

  
“If this is about your feelings for Skulduggery, I really don’t know how to tell you this, dear. Except, go for it and put us all out of our misery of watching you dance around each other.” 

  
“Wow, no. It’s not that. China, how the hell did you know?”

  
“I might be what people call observant. I might have eyes.” She says. 

  
“Stop complaining. We already snogged. It’s got nothing to do with that though. It’s the case.” Valkyrie explains. 

  
“Oh dear.” China says. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've always wondered about Skulduggery's family crest. I'm sure you did too reading the books. I might do more with it in a follow up fic. It always seemed to me that Skulduggery's family history is yet another big secret that could be explored in the novels. I'm sad it hasn't happened so far. I mean, he's the character the books are named after, yet we explore Valkyrie's story. I'd love to know more about Skulduggery's past. 
> 
> Let me know what you think about the whole matter! 
> 
> Also, the scene where Skulduggery waits for Val outside... just think of the golden retriever in Pixar's Up, that waited for the little boy under the porch... because... because he loved him. I'm finding my literary inspiration in very grown up places X,D


	7. Flirting & Dungeons & Dragons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies, 
> 
> It's been a bit of a wait and I hope you haven't declared me dead yet. Work's a bitch and real-life just so annoying. So we all deserve a treat. Tell me what you thought about the new chapter in the comments. 
> 
> I hope you stay safe xxx

Fairhall Castle is surrounded by a high wall and watchtowers corresponding to the cardinal points. She understands where it gets its name from. The stone its been built from is a bleached white. She can’t stop herself from thinking that it resembles the colour of Skulduggery’s bones. It’s odd to picture him growing up here or visiting this place. She can’t see Skulduggery outside his suits and the Bentley. This whole thing doesn’t fit him.

  
Valkyrie parks the car in the distance behind some bushes. China gave her the directions she needed. She strips her clothing and activates her necronaut suit. Putting her shock stick into place, she takes a cloaking sphere from her trunk and approaches the castle slowly. No one seems to be around, not even guards. What can she expect? Skulduggery never talks about his abandoned legacy. When she gets close enough she twists the sides of the cloaking sphere. The gates to the castle are open. There’s no sign of forced entry. The wood is rotten through in places. Skulduggery discarded his inheritance after he came back, that probably means the castle is in a state of disrepair. 

  
The castle’s halls are cold and empty. Valkyrie is on high alert. The white stone radiates malcontent. There’s some furniture that’s rotting away. Some decorations remain under a shroud of dust and cobwebs. Nothing special grabs her attention. She’s sure that Skulduggery put everything expensive and potentially dangerous into the vault and that’s likely downstairs if Serpine’s word can be trusted.

  
“Valkyrie?” it’s a whisper so low she almost thinks she imagined it, but then Skulduggery steps out of the shadow of an arcade. A sigh of relief escapes her and she walks closer so he’s entrapped into the bubble of the cloaking sphere. 

  
“There you are.” He says and drops his hand.

  
“Why didn’t you tell me you were doing this?” she asks with her hands at her hips. 

  
“You know why. I would’ve told you eventually. I thought I’d be my clever self and take care of it first, so we wouldn’t have this kind of discussion, but it seems I failed extraordinarily. Because we have some uninvited guests.” Skulduggery explains. With his fingers he is reading the air and she’s careful to follow alongside him to keep them inside the sphere. 

  
“Yeah, I was wondering why there was no protective shield or anything.” Valkyrie says. Even if he hates this place, a castle like this needs warding against trespassers and unsuspecting mortals. 

  
“Who told you where to find me? Was it China?” he asks. Their journey takes them further and further down the stairs of the castle. Old portraits of mages in medieval dress and landscapes adorn the walls. There’s no light, so Valkyrie summons a lightning ball to see where she’s going. 

  
“Serpine.” Valkyrie answers. Skulduggery doesn’t comment, but goes still for a second while he considers it.

  
“You couldn’t own a spookier castle, could you?” Valkyrie asks and gestures to one of the portraits. It shows a dark haired floating lady surrounded by blood red energy. “That thing’s so haunted.” 

  
“That’s my great-great-aunt Mathilda. Don’t you see the family resemblance?”

  
“It is not. She looks crazy.” 

  
“Sure is. Crazy runs in the family. From all the complains my family got over the centuries, I don’t think being haunted was one of them.” He says and puts a hand at her side to push her along. 

  
“How much time do we have? And where are they?” Valkyrie asks when the cloaking sphere reaches the end of its spin and she rewinds it for good measure.

  
He shrugs, “Plenty. The vault got a good old fashioned lock, I made sure of that. Ravel disrupted the shield I had put around the castle and its grounds, but he won’t be able to crack the lock.” Skulduggery produces a long silver skeleton key from the inside of his suit. It reflects the light oddly so it must be magic. 

  
“Uh, shiny.” She says and plucks it from his fingers. 

  
“That was a remarkable display of magpie tendencies. Did you know that the magpie’s Latin name is pica pica? That’s a ridiculous sounding name if I ever heard one. But the common red fox is called vulpes vulpes, so surely the zoologists that go around naming animals have no idea what a fashionable name sounds like.” He’s babbling. There must be something he wants to distract her from. 

  
“Not just sparrows now, Skulduggery.” Valkyrie says and hands him the pretty key back so he can pocket it. They round a corner and come into a room spacious enough to have been a study or music room. There’s a big empty fireplace that gapes like an opened mouth. A tall portrait is mounted above it. It’s of two men in dark seventeen-century clothing. She takes a step back to regard it. The men in the painting look like brothers. Same hair and eye colour. One is barely smiling, but there’s something in the other one’s gaze that stops her. His eyes are striking, like a fire burns within them. The way he stands in the nondescript landscape, the angle of his head, has something familiar. 

  
“I thought it’s time to expand my ornithological range.” Skulduggery says. He walked to the right side of the room. Now he’s inspecting the wall with idle hands in search for something. 

  
“Do I know him?” she asks. Skulduggery doesn’t gaze up to see what she is looking at but keeps busy. 

  
“Ah, I would say so. It’s the last house owners.” He says eventually. Her heart makes a jolt when realisation dawns on her. 

  
“It’s you.” She says. Valkyrie looks at him and then back at the portrait. He’s not coming closer, waiting for her judgement. Valkyrie feels old curiosity resurface. A question she long thought forgotten has finally been answered. It’s a pleasant face. She imagines it really fit well with his voice. A dead face, he called it. She didn’t expect to ever find out what he really looked like, but not expecting anything doesn’t mean she isn’t surprised. She lets out a hum.

  
“You were kinda hot.” She says. “I’m fighting the urge to take a picture with my phone.” 

  
“I’m so sorry for your loss.” He says and she can’t help herself but snickers. 

  
“I don’t want to inflate your ego any more, Skulduggery, but you’d never let it go if I just said nothing.”

  
“You know me well.” He says and continues his search. 

  
“Did you ever wear stockings? They weren’t just for girls back then, right?” she asks. Skulduggery lets out an indignant huff. 

  
“I don’t have to answer that. Let’s just say that fashion has seen some improvements over the last few centuries.” Her eyes catch at what must be his family’s crest embossed on the bottom of the portrait’s frame. It looks like two fighting lions. But the mane and teeth don’t look right. She steps closer. It’s two wolfs at each other’s throat, she thinks. 

  
“What does it mean?” she asks and points. 

  
“I think my great great great great grandfather really liked canines.” 

  
“Okay, don’t tell me.” She says and walks over to his side. 

  
“Why does it have to mean anything?” he asks. 

  
She shrugs, “I thought it’s supposed to be like meaningful.”   
“Men’s nature is at war. Quite apt, don’t you think? Forever biting its own neck.” 

  
“I understand.” She says. How could she not with Darquesse and the little shard that stayed behind? Kes has faded away, Valkyrie isn’t sure she should be sad or happy about it. 

  
“I still think you’re hot, if you’re wondering.” Valkyrie says in an afterthought. 

  
“Thank you, but I don’t think it compares.” Skulduggery says. Before she can ask what that’s supposed to mean, there’s a dry click and a door swings open where there was nothing but flat white stone wall before. 

  
“Open sesam.” He says and steps back like a stage magician. 

  
“I’d be impressed if this wasn’t your castle.” She says and walks past him. “For someone who knew the door was there, you’ve taken a really long time to unlock it.” 

  
“You don’t appreciate my genius.” He complains. 

  
“I appreciate you for other things.” She says and lets her voice dip low. There’s a hitch in his step and she giggles. Catching him off guard is rapidly becoming her new favourite past time. They venture further and she notices the iron rings that are let into the stone walls. 

  
“Is this like your family’s dungeon?” she asks. 

  
“Yes, where else would we put the people that were mean to us? One snappy comment and off to the dungeon you go. It’s like a nice little holiday, but without windows.” He cocks his head to the side and she twists the cloaking sphere again and puts it inside her pocket. Skulduggery can hear something. They move a few meters further down the floor, before she can hear it too. 

  
“Penelope.” Ravel is saying. Skulduggery and Valkyrie walk to the entrance of the antechamber of the vault. Ravel and Penelope Vice are standing in front of a closed oak door. The wolf crest is gilded to the wood. They put up torches and in the flickering light, Ravel’s eyes glow like liquid gold. 

  
“I don’t think I want to. Erskine, please, you’re scaring me.” Penelope says. She’s shaking with fear. 

  
“I just want to find out if it works better now. Trust me, Penny. We’re friends after all.” He says. Ravel is holding the medal in his hands, gold light begins to shine through between the gaps in his fingers and his eyes pick up intensity.

  
She shakes her head, “I was friends with the other Erskine, I’m not so sure about you anymore.” She says. 

  
“Ah, that’s not a very nice thing to say, Penny. But I think I got it now.” Ravel says. Something new creeps into his voice, smooth and scalding: “ _Please step forward_.” 

  
Penelope does. 

  
“ _Do a circle_.” He says. Penelope does so, with a vacant expression on her face. Skulduggery’s shoulders tense, before he steps out of the bubble of the cloaking sphere. 

  
“Hello Erskine, I see you’ve been busy. Please let Miss Vice go.” Skulduggery says and draws his gun to point at Ravel’s chest. 

  
“Nice to join us, Skulduggery. Where’s that lady friend that seems to follow you around?” Ravel asks. The glow hasn’t left his eyes yet. 

  
“I’m right here.” She says, turns the cloaking sphere back and steps forward. Lightning is cracking in both her hands. “Had some trouble with the door, I see.” Valkyrie continues. 

  
Ravel smiles, “But you’re mistaken. We’ve already got what we came here for. It’s odd to witness the imbalance in this world. It’s like you’re still stuck in the dark ages. In my world, our magic is advanced enough to walk right through a door like that, or I wouldn’t be able to do this: _Valkyrie, why don’t you come closer. Here into the light, so Skulduggery can have a good look at you, while we do this_.” 

  
His voice is like honey, like summer heat and sickness that squirms under the surface of maggoty skin. She turns her head away, doesn’t want to listen. 

  
“Valkyrie, be a dear and walk out of here.” Skulduggery says.

  
“I don’t think so. It might not work on you, dead man. But look at her. _Valkyrie, you like my voice, don’t you? It’s even better than Skulduggery’s. Come over here, please_.” Her left knee jerks and she almost buckles over. It feels like something is clawing at her brain and then her mind caves in and she starts walking. 

  
“ _That’s a good girl. Stay here_.” Ravel says. Penelope still has that dumb look on her face. Valkyrie schools her own expression and smiles. Ravel’s voice is nice, he’s right. Ravel is nice too. Why couldn’t she see that before? She’ll follow that voice everywhere, do everything he says. 

  
“Stop. Or I’ll shoot you in the head.” Skulduggery says. Valkyrie frowns. That won't be nice. Shooting Ravel would certainly result in screams and she doesn’t want to hear Ravel’s perfect voice in pain. 

  
“Would you really kill me, old friend?” Ravel asks. 

  
“Miss Vice got it right, we’re not your friends.” Skulduggery fires his gun, but Ravel dodges the bullet easily. 

  
“Then, you leave me no other choice. _Valkyrie, be a dear,_ “ he mocks Skulduggery’s words, “ _and kill him for me!_ ” 

  
She flies forward using her lightning. Her fingers curl around his neck and they crash into the wall. 

  
“Come on Valkyrie, you can shake this off.” He growls as he pushes her off and dodges a kick. 

  
“Fight back, Skulduggery, or this won't be any fun.” She says. Lightning strikes his arm when he isn’t fast enough and he lets out a hiss. Most of her attacks he sidesteps, but she gets in some punches nonetheless. He doesn’t want to hurt her.

  
“Attack!” she demands and swings a kick that hits his sternum. He staggers back against the wall.

  
“No.” He says. She growls. This is frustrating, but it’s also freeing. It’s like Ravel let loose a little piece of Darquesse that was still hiding in the crevices of her mind. Or, well, she can admit the truth, Valkyrie is a grown-up now. It might just be her in her full glory. She kicks his jaw.

  
“Attack, Skulduggery!” She says and snaps forward to grab him by the shoulder. He tries to flip her over his hip, but she twists against the momentum and they stagger apart. He blasts air at her that swipes her off her feet. She rolls to disperse the shock, but he’s upon her faster than she can get back up. Skulduggery grabs her at the throat and hoists her up. She splutters and he softens his grip to let her breath. 

  
“For god’s sake Valkyrie. Snap out of it, please.” She kicks against his thigh. Hooks her foot behind his ankle and jerks. His fist hits the side of her head as they fall. Letting out a grunt, she tries a judo move to lock him. She partially succeeds and turns herself around to get on top of him.   
“I thought we were having fun. Kissing, hand to hand combat. It’s been real romantic.” She grinds her hips against him and he rolls them over to get off.

  
“I said _kill him_ , not make out with him.” Ravel cuts in with exasperation. 

  
“Oh, hubs.” She says and fires another lightning ball. Skulduggery returns the favour with fire. 

  
“This is kind of freeing. My head feels like it's filled with cotton candy. I can say what I want now. Do you want to hear what I have to say?” She laughs. This reminds her of their waltz at the wedding. He didn’t want her to lead back then, but gave in anyway. A grin spreads over her face. A double blast of ball lightning brings him down. 

  
“Valkyrie, shake it off.” He says again. 

  
“No, no, no. I like this.” She says and grabs him, “Let's take this outside.” She flies upstairs, they spiral through the air, accelerating. She aims up toward the ceiling when they’re out of the antechamber. Like she expected, he shields them from the carnage of the falling roof. Once they’ve hit fresh air she takes a big breath and lets go of him. They circle each other, flying higher and higher above the castle.

  
“Sometimes I miss Darquesse, I miss her so much.” Valkyrie says, “It’s like a phantom limb. I always thought we were equal when I found out. But you still have Vile, and I’m empty.” 

  
“That’s not true. You’re your own person.” Skulduggery says. 

  
“What if that’s not enough? I’ve seen the looks you gave me. You’re not sure about us and I hate that. I never thought you’d be the weak link, Skulduggery, but you have doubts, right? What is it? Do you think I’ll walk off, once I’ve scratched the itch?”

  
“Valkyrie, I love you, but if there’s a lesson we’ve both neglected to learn, it’s when to shut up.” She laughs at that. Fires another plethora of lightning balls at him that he has to dance around. 

  
“Aw, I love you too, but you’ve heard the man. I need to kill you.” Valkyrie says. He’s slowing down and there’s no end to her lightning. 

  
“Damn it.” He curses, when one lightning ball hits the arm that already took some damage. He flies backwards and she knows he’s retreating. It might be better this way. Valkyrie has an inkling that when they next see each other their fight might even be more fun than this one. Maybe next time she can try that aura vision thing she does, the one Darquesse killed Skulduggery in the vision with, and do as Ravel asked. That’d be nice, she thinks. Ravel might give her a compliment with that awesome voice. It’s something to look forward to.

  
“Bye bye Skulduggery. Say hi to Dexter and Tanith for me.” She yells after him in delight and lowers herself down. Ravel is already waiting for her.


	8. She's a Killer Queen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SHORT RECAP (for those who forgot what the f*ck happened in the interim):  
> Val goes to the Leibnitz Universe for a case. Militsa and her break up.  
> Val & Skul continue to work. Someone is collecting pieces of a medal that gives you mind control powers. The thief is collecting them in the Leibnitz Universe AND their universe. It is Ravel from the Leipnitz Universe who mysteriously vanishes.  
> China puts a tracker on Aurora Temple (Ravel's ex). Val & Skul are ordered to stalk her at the Requiem Ball. Instead, they dance, talk trash and later kiss inside the Bentley. It's real romantic.  
> Back to business. Val talks to Serpine. He tells her about a location in their universe were a big piece of the medal is hidden. It's inside Skul's family vault. *gasps*  
> There, Val & Skul fight Ravel and his gang. Val is kidnapped though...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies, 
> 
> Sorry, it took me so long to update. This story isn't abandoned. At all! I will continue to give you nice new chapters every now and then, but real life can be a bitch. I had some changes in my workplace. You know how it is. No play makes fanfic writers a dull boy/girl/person. ): 
> 
> I have more good news though. I managed to publish a short story. So that happened and wasn't one of my better daydreams. 
> 
> And big thanks to everyone leaving kudos and comments. I love you guys <3 I hope you don't mind gaps between updates. I'll try my best. Your comments and kudos are a great motivator.

They’re inside Aurora’s little hidey-hole again. Though there isn’t anything little about it. It’s a cabin at the coast, with a view of the sea, modern furniture and a few colourful accents. Valkyrie should really ask her where she bought all this stuff. It’s been almost three weeks and their little gang managed to steal two more pieces from this universe and a third from the Leibniz Universe. The medal around Ravel’s neck almost looks complete. It’s doing wonders to his voice. 

  
“I’m bored,” Valkyrie complains and sits next to Aurora on the couch. Ravel and her share a room, so she probably had the right idea about them. 

  
“Val, don’t be bored,” Ravel says. He’s become so good at this now she can’t tell the difference anymore, she can feel it inside of her though. It sends a pleasant shiver down her spine. Her boredom evaporates. There’s so much to talk about and look at, she realises. Suddenly, it doesn’t matter that she doesn’t particularly like any of them, or that she already knows every centimetre of the cabin.

  
“Tell me again how this speaker system works,” Ravel says to Penelope and she immediately starts. Ravel doesn’t understand how most tech stuff works. It puzzles and secretly amazes him, Valkyrie can tell. But his voice is the important bit, now that the medal is almost complete. It’s enough for making his plans work, Ravel told them. Next week China will hold a speech at the public square in front of the High Sanctuary and Dark Cathedral to address the continuous refugee crisis of Roarhaven. Meritorious has asked them for help. Not for the first time, Valkyrie knows. And they’re sending goods to the Leibniz Universe, but a few mortals have been asking for a place to live among the Roarhaven mages. Valkyrie has seen their current living conditions and understands. They think they’ll be saver inside this universe than their own. They’re so, so wrong, Valkyrie thinks.

  
Something moves out of the corner of her eyes. Tanith drops from the ceiling, sword in hand and stabs Penelope’s thigh as Skulduggery and Dexter crash through the windows. Aurora screams, springs to her feet as Penelope’s blood is ruining the carpet. 

  
“How did you find us?” Aurora asks. 

  
“Tracking sigil.” Valkyrie says. Aurora is thrown to the ground as Dexter blasts her. 

  
“China.” Ravel hisses and throws a fireball at Skulduggery. Ravel doesn’t ask Valkyrie why she didn’t tell them about this, which means he still needs to work on his trust issues. He should have asked, if he wanted to know. Ravel’s instructions always work wonders. Valkyrie clicks her tongue in disapproval and gets ready to fire lightning at Tanith. 

  
“Everybody stop,” Ravel yells over the commotion. Valkyrie feels like she’s jerked back by a bungee cord. But their attackers don’t react. 

  
“Earplugs.” Dexter yells, springs aside from one of Aurora’s violet energy blasts. Ravel curses, sets fire to the files spread out on the coffee table.   
“Knock them out, kill them if you must,” Ravel says. Valkyrie fires lightning at Skulduggery. He dodges, lifts into the air. She barrels into him and they fall through the broken window outside. 

  
“I’ve missed you.” She says. Pecks him on the cheek, before they dislodge. The beach outside is made up of dark pebbles and the wind whips sea spray into her face. 

  
“I’ve missed you too, dear.” He says and straightens up, “Don’t you think it’s time to go home?” 

  
“Skulduggery, we both know there’s no cure for the medal and to be honest, I’ve been really looking forward to this.” She concentrates and switches to aura vision. They’ve been practising, thanks to Skulduggery’s training she can see him clearly without putting too much strain on herself. She’ll be able to fight him, in all his crimson glory. He’s magnificent. A red menace against the dark backdrop of the sea. 

  
They start circling each other. He makes a step forward, she steps back. She moves her shoulder about to fire, he jerks, anticipating the onslaught. 

  
“Valkyrie, I’ll get you out of here. We can fix this, but I’ll hurt you if I have to.” He says.

  
“Promises, promises.” She says. Valkyrie memes another lightning blast, but he puts their posturing to an end by firing a fire ball. She squeals in delight and steps around, closer to him. 

  
“I always wanted to do this.” She says and reaches a hand out to touch him. Curling her fingers she calls the red haze forward. Skulduggery lets out a hiss and staggers. Scarlet lines are disengaging from his left arm like dangling seaweed. They are moving towards her like she’s syphoning them off. 

  
“Stop!” he says, voice strained. The first tendril snaps free, it falls to the floor like a falling leaf, but vanishes before it can hit the ground. Valkyrie frowns. This isn’t how she imagined it would be. Darquesse was a whole lot smoother, he fell in on himself in seconds, like one of those skeletons from biology classrooms. 

  
Valkyrie rips through the ether, forming her hand into a claw and another stripe falls away from his arm. Skulduggery falls to one knee, clutches his damaged limp. 

  
“I can really hurt you like this, really kill you. Ravel will be so proud. How many people do you think are still left in this world who could kill you, Skulduggery?” She steps closer until his head is level with her thigh, “I like to be the one that ends you.”

  
“Who would you talk to when I’m gone?” he asks. Valkyrie shrugs. Another smaller piece of his energy falls away. The scarlet aura around his arm is diminishing, getting duller. It’s fascinating to watch. She should use her vision in fights more often. 

  
“I’ll manage.” 

  
“I don’t think so. You’ll retreat into yourself, grow reclusive. Even Tanith and China won’t be able to reach you. You’ll grow cold and distant. It’ll be worse than the five years we spend apart because, at the end of the line, I won’t be waiting for you. Admit it, you’ll be miserable without me. Alone, with no one to talk to, with no one who really understands what goes on in that thick skull of yours.”

  
“I don’t want to hear this,” Valkyrie says and strengthens her grip. He moans. 

  
“I think you’ll hate yourself and you’ll hate me for not being able to stop you. Look at yourself, Valkyrie, you’d never want to do this. You said you never wanted to hurt me.” Skulduggery says. 

  
“Don’t quote me out of context,” Valkyrie says but gives him the benefit of a doubt and looks down at herself. 

  
“I love you, but sometimes we get into these really dumb situations where all we have left is faith in each other. Look at yourself Valkyrie, what do you see?” Out of the corner of her eye, she notices something dark. It floats around her head, difficult to spot from her position. That’s new. That’s not how her aura is supposed to look like when she’s healthy. Valkyrie lets her hand sink and grabs at the darkness around her head. She pulls and the resulting sensation pushes all the air out of her lungs. 

  
“Holy shit, what is this?” she asks and looks at her hand. It flows like sand through her fingers, black with sickly yellow spots like pus. 

  
“It’s the medal, can you see it?” Skulduggery asks. 

  
“I- yes, I can.” Valkyrie reaches for her head with both hands. She can feel it, it’s thicker than normal aura and it doesn’t want to let go. It’s like pulling at her own skin. She lets out a scream and pulls with both hands. Skulduggery catches her before she can fall to her knees. The darkness leaks over her hands, drops to the ground, before it turns gossamer thin and vanishes completely. 

  
She leans her cheek against Skulduggery’s lapels, breathes in his scent. Her head feels like it’ll split right in the middle with the migraine of the year. 

  
“How did you know?” she asks. 

  
“I didn’t.” He says and wraps her closer in his arms before he places his teeth against the crown of her head. 

  
“Idiot.” She murmurs. 

  
Biting her teeth together she lets him help her back to her feet. 

  
“Are you going to be okay?” he asks. 

  
“I’m fine.” Her head’s still ringing, but nothing a leaf or two won't take care of, “How are you? How’s the arm?” 

  
“It didn’t fall off.” He grunts. 

  
“Poor baby.” She says and pats his shoulder. She almost doubles over when she tries to take a step without him. 

  
“Poor baby,” he says, “doesn’t know how to walk yet.” 

  
“Shut up.” She says but lets him put his arm back around her. Valkyrie puts her own around his side, when they fall they’ll fall together and he’ll lose his dignity first because those are the rules, she decides. 

  
“It’ll grow back in a few days, I’m sure. Sorry about that.” She says as they track back slowly towards the cabin. 

  
“Grow back? Do you mean my aura?” 

  
“Yup.” 

  
“I didn’t know you could influence it like that. Interesting.” He says. 

  
“I’m full of surprises.” She says. 

  
“Don’t I know it.” Skulduggery murmurs as they climb back through the window, ignoring the door. 

  
“You’re alive,” Dexter says. He has a black eye that’s swelling shut. Tanith is right beside him with a nasty cut to her forearm that’ll need stitches. 

  
“Don’t sound so surprised.” Skulduggery grumbles. 

  
“Ah, mate, I don’t know how to tell you this, but I’d put my money with Valkyrie.” 

  
“That really insures the confidence I have in myself.” Skulduggery says. Tanith nods solemnly. 

  
“Wait, did you all think I’d die?” he asks. “Great, seems I’m losing my touch.” Skulduggery says and strides over to the pile of documents Ravel set aflame. 

  
“There’s nothing wrong with growing a bit soft,” Dexter says with a grin and the women start to giggle. 

  
“I take it they shunted.” Skulduggery says, ignoring them, and picks up a partially burned map of Roarhaven. 

  
“They did,” Dexter says. 

  
“Great. At least we know what they’re planning.” 

  
“Uh,” Valkyrie says. 

  
“You do know what they’re planning, right? You spent two weeks and five days with them, you must have heard something.” Skulduggery says. 

  
“I did. Well, sometimes Ravel said I shouldn’t listen and hear a word of what they were saying until he told me otherwise, but for the most part, I think they kind of forgot I was there. It was boring. God, they didn’t trust me enough to go with them to steal the pieces, —great job, by the way, guys— so all I could do was train and watch the stupid telly. Has anyone seen what’s on TV these days?” she shudders. 

  
“Their plans, Valkyrie.” Skulduggery says.

  
“Fine. But you won’t like them.” She says. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo this one was on the shorter side. But are you excited they are back together? I love it when they're fighting each other because of mind whammy shit. It's a trope fest every time, but they belong together. That way they can kick more ass. 
> 
> Next chapter will be different. Things are heating up between Val and Skul. And yeah, you guessed right. I threw caution to the wind, drank a lotta wine and wrote you a pice of skeleton sex. I never thought I'd say that, but here we are. Thanks Derek Landy.


	9. Seeing Red

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> CONTENT WARNING: 
> 
> This is one hell of a sexy chapter. Read at your own discretion. 
> 
> If sex scenes are not your thing I'd recommend stopping when Valkyrie literally exclaims "I think (...) we end up in bed together." 
> 
> For everyone else: I'm not gonna kink shame you or myself. Have fun. X'D
> 
> But holy hell, I never wrote something as porny as that. I never ventured into explicit territory before. And I didn't think I would do it with a flipping skeleton. That's beyond ridiculous. Trying to make things 'realistic' was a hell of a ride. Thanks fuck for magic trickery and the suspension of disbelief.
> 
> ...I better go and post this, before I die of shame.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Lovelies, 
> 
> I'm back at it. I hope you enjoyed the last chapter. If so, I'd be ecstatic to hear from you in the comments. Let me know what you think!

Valkyrie tells them all she remembers, which turns out isn’t much. Their resulting plan is simple. Do everything to keep Ravel from speaking at China’s speech. They go to Skulduggery’s house to talk about tactics and what to expect. Valkyrie changes clothes and comes down to make tea while she’s bombarded with questions. They discuss the details until nightfall, and Valkyrie feels exhausted, when she finally gets to stretch her legs to leave the room. Now that her mind is clear, her memory of her captivity is hazy, like a fine mist settled over everything. She can’t be sure she remembers everything, but her friends tell her it’s alright. It’s been a harsh few weeks. The sigil China put on Aurora worked, but every time their enemy was faster than them. 

  
Tanith and Dexter had little luck with tracking Ravel and his gang here, while Skulduggery spent most of his time alone in the Leibniz Universe, likewise with little success. Valkyrie can tell by the way Skulduggery angles his head and keeps still that he is running out of patience with this case. They are not used to losing the leeway and Valkyrie wishes she could do something to take the edge off. At last, their group is together again, Valkyrie thinks. Now they know when and where to expect Ravel to strike next. 

  
Though Valkyrie’s memory is hazy on most things she experienced under the influence of the medal, she still recalls the things she said to Skulduggery with clarity. He drives her home in the Bentley. When she asks him to come in with her he does so without further comment. 

  
“Who took care of Xena when I was gone?” she asks when she opens the door and the dog is absent. 

  
“She’s with your parents. Alice is quite enamoured with her.” He explains as he follows her inside her living room.

  
“They didn’t ask too many questions, right?” she wants to know and sits down in her favourite armchair while he takes the couch. 

  
“I told them you were working a case overseas. I don’t think your mother believed me. She asked me why I wasn’t there with you.” He shrugs. 

  
“My Mum’s smart.” She says. 

  
“Yes, she produced a brilliant daughter. Alice is far for her age.” 

  
“I knew you’d say that,” Valkyrie says and stretches in her seat until her spine pops. It’s good to be back.

  
“Are you calling me predictable?” 

  
“Do you want me to call you other things, Skulduggery?” she asks and raises an eyebrow at him. 

  
“I digress.” He says. Valkyrie puts her legs over the side of her armchair and tries to get comfortable. Her eyes stay on him, soaking in every inch of him in his dark suit. She missed him. The comfort he brings is more tangible than her home. 

  
“I always thought your family crest was down at the Dublin gallery with the others.” She says, picking up where they left off. 

  
“My family is like China’s,” he splays his hands, “too big, too much history, to be confined to one little vault.” 

  
“I know you don’t want to talk about your family crest, but what will you do about the castle?” She wonders if there are other portraits and if in one of them she could find the liking of his wife and child. The thought hurts. He must miss them something terrible if she can even remotely relay her own feelings to his past. 

  
“The same I did for the last centuries. Ignore it. The warding is back up, enforced, thanks to China. No one will step foot in it.” He explains. 

  
“Okay. I can’t picture you inside a castle anyway. I mean, I can picture you owning one. But what would you do there all day? Walk the seigneury, collect taxes from the peasants?” she says in a fake British accent. 

  
“Sounds boring.” Skulduggery says, he’s put his hat on the seat next to him, now he picks it up and flips it round and round in his hands between his knees. 

  
“Valkyrie, did you mean what you said after Erskine got you?” 

  
“Which part? I mean, you already must have known I— I miss Darquesse. Not her, but the power that came with being her. You’d understand that. Like necromancy, but stronger. She was a god after all, and sometimes I was one too.” The hat has stopped spinning, now his gaze is fixed on her. 

  
“Darquesse wanted to kill the world. Even if she was a god, she had no compassion, no empathy. You’re more than her. You’re human, Valkyrie and I think that’s a very good thing to be.” Skulduggery says. He leans back on the couch and puts his hat on the coffee table with a flick of air. 

  
“Thank you.” She says and gulps hard around the knot in her throat. “Sometimes, you say the nicest things.” Valkyrie laughs a little to dispel her nervous energy. “What about that other nasty thing I said? Where do you think this is heading?” she points between them. 

  
Skulduggery goes still for a while, like he has to pick his next words very carefully: “You were right. When it comes to this, I am the weaker link. Because, for the life of me, Valkyrie, I can’t understand why you’d want me. But then you were gone for almost three weeks and I realised I don’t care much about waiting. I don’t want to keep you at a distance. I never did before and I don’t want to start now. I’ll never believe in destiny, Valkyrie. Death Bringer, Vile, Skeleton Detective. The destinies that I was prophesied never came to fruition. The only thing I have that keeps me sane are the constants in my life, the certainties, and you’re the most important one. We saved the world from being destroyed countless times and sometimes it was one of us who did the destroying, but in the end we always ended back together again. That makes me a very happy man. I don’t think that wherever this is going we’ll end up somewhere we are not supposed to be.”

  
“Woah, I think after that speech we’ve going to end up in bed together. Bloody hell, Skulduggery, you can’t just say those things and not expect me to—” 

  
“To?” he asks, but she despises him. How dare he be this romantic? 

  
“I hate you.” She groans. 

  
“No, you don’t.” He says, she can hear the smirk in his voice. 

  
“I will most definitely, if you don’t move over here and kiss me.” 

  
He does. She never knew he was this good at following orders. She should give him some more often. His bones and teeth are cold, but the pulse under her flesh is hot and she finds she likes the contrast. Skulduggery starts nibbling at her throat and one of his hands slips under her shirt but stays at her side as if he’s not sure he’s allowed to explore further. 

  
Damn it, choosing this armchair was strategically unwise, she thinks. She pushes against him to get up. He regards her, gives her room to breath. Doesn’t know she doesn’t need it. She shakes her head a little to rattle her thoughts back into place. Kissing other people never did this to her. Loving anyone else never left her this enraptured. 

  
“Upstairs.” She breathes. Valkyrie almost expects him to gather her into his arms and fly upstairs, but his magical side doesn’t seem to be the one in charge right now. They meet each other again and it’s a wild shuffle to the stairs. Skulduggery’s tie goes first. She kicks off her boots and socks at the landing before they’re kissing again. Her hands smooth up. She feels every rib under his shirt. It’s odd, but also exhilaration. She grins up at him, bites her lip. 

  
“I love you.” She says. Her heart beats in her chest like a drum, but she feels light and she hasn’t felt like this in a long time, maybe forever. Then she gets it, as she brushes over his shoulders to get rid of his jacket. She’s happy too. The garment lands on the carpet and for a second she expects him to say something about picking it up to not get wrinkles, but he doesn’t react at all but keeps moving his head to give her more access for another kiss. For two people this agile and trained it’s an awful tumble up the stairs. They don’t want to let go from one another, but that turns taking steps together into a complicated manoeuvre. Her fingers have trouble opening the first few buttons on his shirt. Her former partners never wore anything remotely formal and she’ll need to practice. 

  
When they reach upstairs, Skulduggery sighs and helps her unbutton his shirt. She watches as he untugs it from his trousers. Valkyrie takes in the ridges of his ribcage, the elegant curve of his clavicle. He cocks his head at her. 

  
“I’ve never seen you this dishevelled.” She decides. Skulduggery chuckles, closes the distance between them to tug at her shirt. She lifts her hands for him so he can pull it over her head. 

  
“I wonder how dishevelled I can make you look.” He whispers against her ear. She thinks that’s a bad one, but doesn’t really care, when a gust of wind hits her as Skulduggery moves his hand behind her back to send her hair flying into her face. 

  
“You are such a child, I swear.” She says, wipes dark strands out of her face and spits some out. He chuckles. Valkyrie pushes him by the hips, where his belt holds his trousers in place. He stumbles backwards, but in that direction lies the bedroom, so everything is as she wants it. 

  
They take another stop at the door frame, where he flips her around so her back hits the wall to kiss and nuzzle down her throat and collar bone. Valkyrie moans, has the sense to finally discard his open shirt. His hand moves away from where he’s been tugging at her hair to reach around her, fishing for the fastening of her bra. She grabs his free hand, before he can do it, gives him a heated look and starts tugging at his glove. Her action gives Skulduggery pause. 

  
“Is it stupid that I imagined this a lot?” she asks as the first glove goes. He relaxes his stance again, works his jaw as if it takes some effort. Valkyrie takes his other hand to repeat the motion. 

  
“What’s so special about it?” he asks as the second glove lands to their feet. Her grin is wolfish, as she takes him by the wrists to put his hands to her shoulders. Draws him in close, with her breath ghosting over his cheekbone.

  
“Your hands on my skin, with nothing between.” Skulduggery murmurs something illegible that ends in a hum when they kiss again. They finally make the last spin and enter her bedroom. Valkyrie pushes herself off him with force. Starts walking backwards. He keeps standing by the door, his gaze intent on her. They’re both enjoying this too much to hurry. Valkyrie reaches behind her back to undo her bra. The hiss he makes is like someone pulling in air sharply through their teeth. She laughs, flips her long hair around so it cascades over one shoulder before she undoes her belt and steps out of her trousers. Wiggling them off isn’t exactly the sexiest move, but she thinks Skulduggery appreciates it, when he rushes over and encircles her waits. His momentum is aided by air manipulation and she lands with her back on the bed with more bounce than expected. 

  
“Eager much,” Valkyrie says and stretches out before him in only her undies. Skulduggery bends over, ready to climb on top of her, but she stops him with her foot against his thigh. 

  
“Socks off. No socks in bed, Skulduggery, and those trousers. They need to go.” Now it’s her who takes her sweet time watching him. 

  
“You’ve got terrible bedside manners.” He grumbles once he’s naked. Of course, there’s nothing to see. But still, it makes her blush and her belly rumble with butterflies. This might be different, but going this far with her is another sign of trust.

  
“My bedside manners are excellent, you’re just high maintenance,” Valkyrie says. She sits up against the headboard and he climbs on top of her.

They share another frenzied kiss that sends heat down her spine towards her middle. Her limbs feel shaky when she moves away under him. She tries to take deep breaths. 

  
“You’re okay, Valkyrie?” he asks and retreats a little. 

  
“Yeah, I just— I feel like I’m at a disadvantage.” She admits. God, she hates stalling. Always has. But they need to talk this through. She has no idea what he’s planning. What’s going through his head other than that he wants her? And that’s all nice and fine, but it’s the more logistic bits she’s at a loss at. 

  
“Tell me, dear, how is it you that’s at a disadvantage? Last I checked you were the one with a live body.” He says.

  
“Your powers of observation will never cease to astound me.” She says, “But that’s exactly it. Other people have flesh and all the other convenient parts. I don’t know what feels good for you, Skulduggery and I want to make it good for you, you understand?” The skeleton sitting between her messy sheets nods two times, but it is a rigid movement. It’s odd to be this close to him and still observe how he has his guard up.

  
“What do you want to know?” Skulduggery asks. Valkyrie gets up to sit on her knees, closer to him. She takes his hands in hers. “You’ve been doing all right so far. Just keep doing what feels right.” He continues. That’s not good enough, she thinks. Makes her feel all manner of selfish. 

  
“Relax, Skulduggery. I’m not going to bite.” Valkyrie says and drags her fingertips lightly up his palm, wrist and forearms to linger at the cease of his elbows, where she knows most people are sensitive. He shivers. Valkyrie leans forward brushes a soft kiss against his teeth. “Or only a little, if you want me to.” She finishes. 

  
“Oh.” He says as if surprised. This is good, she thinks, he’s preoccupied again. 

  
“Skulduggery, can you orgasm?” she finally asks.

  
Another “Oh.” Leaves him, before he says: “I really don’t know.”

  
She frowns, that can’t be right. He had a relationship with Abyssinia and maybe other girlfriends that haven’t come up in conversations yet. 

  
“But you and Abys-” she starts. 

  
“Weren’t in it for that. I mean, she certainly enjoyed it that way. But most of all, it was about power and who held it over the other at the moment. We’re not like that. We’ll never be like that if I can help it.” He explains. It makes sense. Abyssinia didn’t strike her as the cuddly vanilla type and Skulduggery wasn’t looking for romance either. 

  
“Can I try something?” she asks. 

  
“Sure, love.” He says. The new moniker spreads warmth over her whole body. Before she remembers and blinks hard to switch to aura vision. 

  
“Valkyrie, you haven’t done anything yet.” He says and she hears the impatience in his voice. 

  
“I’m regarding you, Mr Pleasant.” She says. 

  
“Fine time to do that, when I’m here for the part where you usually stop looking and start doing the fun things.” He complains. She hums and reaches out to touch her fingertips against his sternum. Skulduggery’s aura is as red as ever. He shoots up as if she’d hit him with lightning. 

  
“Are you okay?” she asks. 

  
“Holy hell, what was that?” His own hand goes to the centre of his chest to feel around. 

  
“Did that not feel good?” 

  
“You’re using your aura vision. You’re aura _manipulation_ we should call it. God, Valkyrie what—” he stops, gazes at her outstretched fingertips and relaxes his shoulders. 

  
“Do it again.” She does. Close like this Valkyrie can see his aura rise almost imperceptibly under her touch, like the moon calling the tide. She places her whole palm to the left side of his ribcage, follows the line over his clavicle where it meets the bone of his forearm. She doesn’t think she imagines it when his colour brightens a bit where she’s touched him. The aura turns into the shade of red you see when you close your eyes against direct sunlight. She blinks and her aura vision flickers out. 

  
“Valkyrie, if you stop now, I swear I’ll fly out the window. Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it. It feels, I don’t know how, I think it feels… real.” Skulduggery stumbles over his own words. Wow, she can only remember a handful of times when he lost his eloquence. 

  
“I’m really getting to you.” She says and takes a long breath. Her brain needs all the oxygen for this, before she switches back to aura vision. She bends forward to kiss him again. He flinches on impact. 

  
“You’re sure this feels alright?” she asks, voice low, but concerned. 

  
“Yes, it’s just intense. Nothing to write home about.” He says. She starts kissing him. Her eyes close, but still, she can perceive his aura in some back corner of her mind. She thinks she can almost sense it with her lips against his teeth. She pushes on, deepens the kiss and yes, it’s a little bit different like this, but if the noise he’s making is anything to go by that little bit of magical handiwork is really doing it for him. Valkyrie takes care to touch him as much as she can, until he feels lose against her, follows her, anticipates her every move. That’s it, she thinks, he’s letting go.

  
“You’re amazing.” He says. Her hands come to rest on the mattress by his side. One of Skulduggery’s hands is playing with her hair. They somehow managed to end up on the wrong end of her bed, but she doesn’t care. There’s probably no one in this world who could do this with their magic and it makes her smile. Sometimes it’s very clear that they were meant to find each other, she thinks. 

  
“I don’t feel like I am at such a disadvantage anymore.” She says and straddles him. 

  
“I knew you’d like to be on top.” He says. His hand is at the bend of her knee and then he flips them back around. 

  
“You sure, you know what you’re doing Skulduggery?” he doesn’t answer but starts working his way down her throat to her breasts in what is his version of kisses. One hand splays at the inside of her thigh. Skulduggery knows exactly how much force she needs behind his touches, how rough she likes him to get. He takes one of her nipples between his teeth. His free hand is caressing her other breast. Valkyrie’s wired enough that the sensation shoots pleasure down her spine. Her legs jerk higher. 

  
Skulduggery cocks his head, she knows he’d be grinning if he had a face. He’s too smug, she thinks. She arches up and he rolls her panties down her thighs and legs. Her hands play over his ribcage, his hip bones, seeking leverage. She’s intensifying his crimson aura with every lingering touch. His hand starts drawing patterns on the insides of her thigh, drag over feverish skin. Skulduggery gets closer to the centre of her heat until he dips two fingers inside. She moans, stretches her neck in pleasure. He starts moving and she adjusts the angle with her hips, presses against the friction he creates. 

  
“You’re beautiful.” He says. Her hand clutches around his neck, as they work out a rhythm. Her vision flickers in and out of the normal spectrum every time she thrusts against him, before she forces herself to keep focused. There’s more light to his aura now. Like she’s been turning up the dimmer. He works his fingers against her, adds a third one. Valkyrie trembles, curses, forces him closer against her with the grip she has on his neck. Harder than she would with someone who had skin. Skulduggery groans when their upper bodies align, her hot feverish flesh against this ribcage. She bucks her hips, takes up the pace, mindful to keep touching him.

  
“This okay?” she wants to know and pushes against his public bone. He moans and the sound makes her tremble with anticipation. 

  
“Keep going.” He says, voice deeper than ever before. She lets out a hiss that ends in a stifled moan against his collar bone as he hits a sweet spot. She thrusts against him. Feels like she’s going a little bit crazy. Feral. Crimson is all she sees. He starts murmuring sweet nothings between kisses and caresses. His voice is almost too much. She knew Skulduggery would be a talker and she loves him all the more for it. Blood and magic rushes through her system, like an electric current. His movements reverberate through her. She circles her feet around him, hooks her ankles behind his back. Close now, so close. The contact makes him stagger. Valkyrie feels his aura under her touch hot, quivering. She reaches her high point, isn’t sure if she’s crying out his name or a curse as she orgasms. Her synapses fire, her body still moves with the aftershocks, her mind holds on to his aura. Skulduggery bites down on her shoulder to stifle the noise that escapes him. Her magic frizzles in the air like static energy and his spine convulses as he comes. 

  
Skulduggery rests his jaw on her shoulder for a while after. 

  
Slowly awareness floods back into her system. Her feet and fingertips tingle. The light’s gone out, Valkyrie thinks when she finds her aura vision has faded out. Skulduggery untangles himself from her. His movements are tender, but there’s a weariness to him now. He lays down beside her, like he too needs to get his breath back, or if not that, then his senses. 

  
“That was awesome.” Valkyrie sighs. 

  
“How the hell did you do that?” he asks. Skulduggery sounds like he needs to clear his throat like he has a cough. That’s a new one. 

  
“I’m just great like that. Love to make your world spin.” She says, still a little breathless, and he hums in agreement. Huddles close to press his teeth against her tattoo. 

  
“Valkyrie.” He says, but there’s no follow up. Skulduggery takes her blanket, uses the air to let it fall over their bodies. She’s glad for the rush of air against her hot skin. Skulduggery embraces her. Aw, she knew he was in for cuddles. She’ll never let him live that down. Wanting to say something, she finds her throat dry and her tongue too heavy. His bones are still cool and his body isn’t solid like other people’s, but as he keeps close she doesn’t mind at all. That’s how she falls asleep. There are still things on her mind, jibes on her tongue that remain unsaid, but they can wait till morning. 

**Author's Note:**

> Skulduggery picked the monster bits outta her hair because he knows she hates it when she looks less than presentable when she sees China. 
> 
> I've decided to leave out the whole Darquesse jesus-ed herself thing... because, my dudes, that is just too weird. I'm sure she and Sebastian sussed out their weird plotline and lived happily ever after. 
> 
> I hope I wasn't too harsh with Militsa. I always hate it when fanfictions break up the canon couple by writing them OOC. I hope you can understand why they didn't work out as a couple. Please forgive me. I don't expect Valduggery to become canon, ever. If Milista doesn't turn out evil, I'm all in for the good rep. 
> 
> If you want to share your SOW feelings hit me up on tumblr under whatandroidsdreamof !
> 
> You can expect this to hit between the 30k-40k mark. I'm halfway through and the coast is clear.


End file.
